Just AnotherTale
by Darkened Bubbles
Summary: After a great war, humans were banished Underground. Still, living Underground seemed natural. Once your twin was taken above, the Underground never felt like home again. One day you wake up with no recollection of how you escaped that Hell, but just a few painful memories. You try to live peacefully, until you realize Chara was here. Would you give up your new friends to save one?
1. Already above ground

Hello, welcome to my story, and thank you for taking the time to read it! I just wanted to put here that this story is rated M for things such as suicide, rape, and strong language. There will be romance, but I do not ever plan on writing smut for this story. Also, you can go to my profile if you want to know a more detailed summary. Enjoy!

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You can't remember how long it's been since you've been underground, let alone if you have ever been anywhere but. You don't even know if you were born underground. Your parents never talked about it.

No one really took the time to document our history or the time spent underground. Humans have given up quite some time ago when it came to returning to the surface.

As a kid, you never really worried about it. With yourself and your twin, you've made a relatively fair amount of friends. Though many humans rarely reproduced anymore in fear of famine, disease, and overcrowding in such a tight space, what you had was enough.

Your family was as loving as they could be with their two children, and even sometimes helped other kids out as much as they could.

You were happy.

There were times where you couldn't eat much at night until your parents made enough money to buy some food. You never really had a lot of clothes or toys to play with. Sometimes it was too cold at night to sleep. But you had your Mom, your dad, and Chara.

You were content.

And even though the school work was sometimes too hard to understand, Chara would help you as much as they could. Sometimes bullies at school would pick on your twin from time to time, but you always had their back.

Life could sometimes be hard, but you were at ease.

…Yet so much has changed since then.

It was hard to go to sleep with the bruises and nightmares that plagued you. The cold air always bit you now that no one was there to hold you at night. The silence somehow became more deafening than your fathers snores, Chara's laughter, and your mothers quiet scolding's. Once Chara left you, your family became something terrifying, but you could never really blame them.

Honestly, it was no one's fault but yours when you got into that argument at school. You never really needed to rile up the situation, but you wanted to prove you were strong enough so no one would bully you or Chara. Even your friends told you to drop it, but you persistent on following through some stupid bet. Your determination was possibly your biggest fault.

It was just some stupid rumor. That's what you kept telling yourself. But many humans grew weary of living underground, and since many parts of Waterfall were blocked off by the Rule to prevent more suicides, many people gossiped about the flowerbed near some ruins.

It's been said that sometimes during the day at a certain time, light would shine through a hole and hit the flower bed at such a beautiful angle. But many people believed it to be a lie. The Rule explained that if there were such a hole, that they would do everything in their power to free humans from the Underground. And though there was a light restriction placed near the ruins, many people never thought about it twice, considering they were a bit dangerous in the first place. Albeit, as kids, those stories seemed to be true.

But to you, it was just some stupid rumor. How many times were you going to keep telling yourself that until you legs stopped shaking?

Whether it was a lie or not, once Chara heard of the dim-witted bet you took on, they raced after you, asking a friend to tell an adult if you didn't come back once school ended. Chara didn't want to get in trouble, but if worse came to worse, they at least wanted to be safe. No matter the outcome, you were probably going to experience the worse scolding of your life.

A smile crept on your lips at that time, remembering how angry Chara could be when you got yourself into trouble. Fights, laziness, and your terrible jokes could never stand up to Chara's wrath. But your twin loved you. Your family used to love you.

You jumped a few gates and slid by some corners until you finally got to a dark, silent, open area with just one bed of flowers illuminated by a ray of lights. You were stunned. It was too beautiful . Walking closer to it, you chuckled slightly, jumping a bit after hearing your echo.

"Heh, they said there was supposed to be some giant hand here to crush you. What a joke." You took a camera out and took a picture of the golden flowers, then looked up for another picture, but what you saw caught you off guard.

Was that… A sun? It was so bright and so warm. You had to squint a bit after realizing the pain it was causing your eyes. After living somewhere where it was always cold and dark, it seem natural to you living in the shadows. Yet, after seeing this, somehow you feel as if you couldn't even live a second without it. Just as quickly as you lost focus, your mind suddenly snapped you back into reality once you heard your name being called.

"C-Chara?" Turning around, you see Chara catching their breath from across the empty space. You became scared, although knowing Chara probably didn't tell your parents, you were just simply more afraid of your twin than them either way. No one else knew how to make you regret doing something stupid or dangerous like Chara did.

"You're in big trouble, you know that right?" Chara huffed in-between words. You were always the more fit between the two of you.

"I-I-I know, b-but there isn't anything even d-dangerous… here…" You try to reason, but you could barely even get a word out of your mouth. Your legs began to shake, and sweat formed on your forehead as Chara took more steps towards you. You wondered if you were going to get hit…

Quickly, you go to your phone to the picture you had taken, your mind trying to think of some excuse to prove how you were safe the entire time, and that Chara needn't worry. The sound of footsteps became closer as you recklessly fumbled with your phone until you heard them stop. You look up, ready to take a hit, only to see Chara's eyes staring at something behind you. As you turn around, Chara began to run towards you, yelling your name in hopes of your safety. Even with how loud you knew the screams where, everything seemed almost muted.

This hand with no flesh, inches from your face, threaten to close in and grab you. You stare through the giant hole in the hand where the sun once was only to see an eerie smile staring back at you. You wanted to move, but your legs wouldn't budge. Your mind told you to run but your eyes stayed locked on that image. It wasn't until you felt something grab your back that you finally made a sound. You became aware of both yours, and Chara's screams. Yet, instead of being pulled up, you felt yourself falling backwards.

It took a second, but you finally understood that Chara pulled you backwards, only to have her forward momentum move right into the space you were just frozen. You fell onto the ground, but quickly picked yourself up.

Ha. Now you can move?

Just as quickly as you could blink, the hand snatched Chara, causing her to scream in pain.

"Frisk, help me!" As you start to yell your twin's name, the ground begins to shake under you, causing you to fall over once more. It took a little longer to stand up this time due to the tremors, but your mind wouldn't stop racing. You didn't know what to do. Whispers found their way into your ears, but you were too scared to make since of them. It became harder to see with the tears streaming down your face, and harder to hear with the shaking as Chara kept calling you name for help. The whispers became louder until you finally recognize one word. _**Run**_ _._

Your fight or flight response kicked in, making it harder to breathe or think coherently. The only thing you could think; the only thing you wanted to do; the only thing you did was run.

 _You left Chara to die._

You gotten back faster than you had gotten there. With your parents at work, the first thing you do was try to tell a teacher, but they didn't believe you.

You ran to a guard, but they didn't listen to you.

You made yourself run all the way to Hotland. You screamed at the top of your lungs to hope that maybe someone would listen. That the Rule would send guards to help. But it was rather the opposite.

Of course, you realize now the that you were never supposed to find out, and that the Rule was perhaps corrupt. It actually made since now, considering how well they live off compared to many of the other inhabitants in the Underground. Sure, you were a kid, but you felt some dumb not seeing the truth until it was too late. They silenced you. They silenced your parents. Threatening your family, taking away their jobs, forcing you into poverty.

You hate how easily and seamlessly they were able to do so. And how no one around you seemed to have caught on. You hated how your parents lost hope and became so different than what you remember them to be. But you hated yourself the most.

That's why once your parents started beating you, you didn't mind. You felt as if you deserved it. Because, 'maybe if they get their anger out, they'll be able to move on.' You kept telling yourself that considering all the bully's you used to beat up to protect Chara. But it still hurt.

Not only the physical pain they were causing you, but to be hated by someone you loved so dearly tore at you. It made it impossible to forget what happened. The yelling numbed your ears, the constant bruises dulled the pain, but your heart never stopped hurting. You've cried so much, it became hard to speak, not that you ever did anyway. You stopped going to school. You tried to make as much money as you could just to stay alive, but honestly, why where you? To help the parents you kept apologizing to?

You tried not to think about it too much; about killing yourself, since it put too many thought in your head. You even caught yourself drugging yourself from time to time just so you could feel numb to that pain. And when you didn't have the money for it, going back to your parents always made the physical pain take over the mental one. You almost welcomed it at this point. As long as you couldn't feel mentally, you felt just a little better. The mental pain made it harder to sleep at night. It became impossible to close your eyes in fear of seeing that moment again. Although you never physically went back, you always seemed to be next to that flowerbed. It was so warm, so inviting. But you always knew what came next.

At this point, it didn't surprise you once you actually saw it again. Not as bright as it first was, but still an obvious contrast to the life Underground. You step on something and looked down. It was your phone. It wouldn't turn on anymore, but it had been so long, you figured it ran out of power. You look up and see yourself at the flowerbed. It seemed so real, were you actually still dreaming?

The sky above you looked grey, and mist hit your face once you stood in the bed of flowers. It seems that is how they get watered.

Strangely, above you, you see something move and tense up, only to quietly laugh at yourself when you realize it was just a flower, possibly blowing in the wind. Tears began to form in your eyes once you hear the echo come back to your ears. Your voice. It sounded so strange.

"Please," you begin, voice breaking from the strain, "take me away from here. Please just let me die already." But no one answered. You fall to your knees at this point, laughing out loud at your previous comment. After all this time, that's the first thing that comes from your mouth? You were finally broken, crying in the flower bed where all your happiness was taken away from you. Your face was slightly wet from the mist and the tears, but something harder fell onto it. You go to wipe it away, confused when you realized it was water. The rain wasn't falling hard enough for it to hit you like that.

Something then caught your eye from above. You tried squinting, and it looked as if something was staring at you. Memories began to fill your head, but before you got to stand up and walk away, a vine wraps around your neck and drags you up.

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Well that's all it seems for the first chapter. I hoped you enjoyed. A few notes though, I wasn't entirely sure if I wanted Chara to be a girl, a boy, or any gender for that matter. But as I wrote, it seemed as if I made her female, so that's what I'm sticking with. Honestly, the gender won't have any effect on the story, so if you want to read Chara as a 'he' go right ahead.

I can't stop you anyways ;_;

Thanks for reading!

I'm unsure how I want to go about this, but here is art for this chapter!

art/Justanothertale-Chpt-1-653618158


	2. Already met her

My thoughts are so far ahead, my hands can't keep up! ;_;

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You were almost too afraid to fall asleep. Not because of the monsters you just met, but simply just believed you were still dreaming. The pain should have been an obvious give away, but considering the past few nightmares, you couldn't be too sure. Still, you were tired. Knowing you had to at least calm yourself down, you think about everything that has happened so far.

You start with the most recent memory. It was a bit fuzzy, but trying to recall anything before that terrified you for some reason. You weren't going to force it just yet.

It was so bright. Not only did your eyes hurt, your neck hurt as well. It was difficult to breathe.

"Oh thank goodness, you're awake." You sat up quickly and looked in the direction of the voice. Bad move. You swear you've given yourself whiplash. Even so, you keep looking for the owner of the rattled voice, but only a bed of golden flowers meet your eyes.

"Down here!" The voice called again. Immediately, you look down towards your side to see a flower, but this one had a face! You try to scream and jump away, but the only thing that came out of your mouth was a cracked squeak. You tripped over your legs and instantaneously fell on your butt. "Woah! A-are you okay?!" The flower asked you. This flower meant well, yet that still didn't stop the panic in your body. You try speaking again, proving itself to be one of the most difficult task there was since waking up.

"W-what are you!?" Though still cracked and dry, you were finally able to get some words out of your mouth. Sadly, the flower looked at you with confusion.

"Er, well. I am a flower. Um, you can call me Flowey though. Flowey the Flower! Nice to meet you! Oh, and sorry for scaring you…" You opt out of talking this round and nod at the flower, giving it a weak smile. Although you were scared and very much in pain, you sit up and look around. It seemed the flower understood your thoughts, and continued to speak. "Oh, we are in the ruined castle right now. Toriel will be able to tell you more about it if you'd like. She should be on her way now, I called her as soon as I saw you pass out here."

You start to fret a bit hearing this. Meeting one monster today should be enough. With as much stress you were under, was it even possible to encounter another monster this soon without passing out. Flowey must've seen you tense up, and tried to calm you down.

"Don't worry about it! Toriel is a sweetheart, and even less scary than me! That should mean a lot coming from a flower, right?" A smile crept to your lips once more. You couldn't remember the last time someone was this nice to you. In fact, you really couldn't remember much at the moment. You swear you saw the flower blush, but that really wouldn't make any sense. Right? Flowey broke the gaze and spoke again. "A-anyway, I need to get going. I don't like letting Toriel… see me like this…" Flowey stared at the ground with a despondent look in its eyes. You try to say something to cheer the flower up, but as soon as you could blink, it dug himself underground.

"F-Flowey?" You managed to breathe out, looking for the flower around you. There were too many golden flowers around you, and your head began to spin. You felt sick.

"Oh dear! My child, are you alright?" You turn around to face the troubled voice. A large goat woman stood over you. And when you mean large, this monster was enormous. Sure, you were still sitting on the ground, but if you were to stand up, you would probably only reach just below her chest. You both remain still for a moment, but she made the first move. Her hand moved closer to your face, and you tried to tell yourself that you were safe, but your body wouldn't stop shaking. "Cha-"

Her voice cut off when you flinched to her touch. Immediately, your eyes snap open to the warm feeling on your face. Somehow, all the feelings of fear, dread, and the pain washed away. She made you feel so safe. For what seemed like an eternity, the both of you lock eyes. You swear you could've known her for longer than the few seconds you just met.

"O-oh my! You're so cold, and you are shivering! Let's get you inside to warm you up." She picks you up just like a child. Yet, instead of being startled that someone just invaded your personal space, you're stunned. As your face falls against her chest, your heart swells up, and some emotion you can't really place your mind on fills your body. Choked sobs were heard in the air, and tears run down your face. Toriel rushes to put you down, but you just hold on tighter, sobbing into her. You didn't fully understand why you were crying, but your weeping reached the woman's ears, as she returned your wails with her own.

The two of you hold each other tightly while riding out the sudden burst of emotion. Once it dies down, you look up at her, wiping away a tear on her face, wishing you could apologize for making her cry. She just smiles at you, seeming to understand how you felt, and returns to bringing you inside for warmth.

You were almost asleep now, and for the first time in however long you can remember, you weren't afraid of the nightmares that followed. Instead, you were afraid of waking into a nightmare. Going back to the Underground wasn't ideal, even if you didn't know where you were exactly, or if you were safe.

Because for once, you felt just a little bit happy again.

You find yourself waking up, not realizing you had even fallen asleep. A pleasant smell meets your nose, making it easier to get up. Quietly, you make your way to the source of the smell. On your way there, Toriel sits on a rocking chair reading a book. Once heard, Toriel looks up, and a smile forms on her face. Laughing slightly at the sight of her reading glasses, you realize it hurt a lot more to make sound than before you slept. That's strange…

"I am so glad to see you awake, but I hope that you are feeling well? If you ever feel sick, please let me know, and I will do the best in my power to heal you." Before you can sign a response, your growling stomach beats you to it. Toriel lets out a gentle laugh and you look away, trying to hide a blush. "I am happy you have an appetite. Please, follow me child, I have made butterscotch cinnamon pie."

Your face twists a bit, glad she was turned around when you did so. Of course, it wasn't the thought of the pie that made your face contort the way it did, you just simply tried to suppress a laugh to avoid a little pain. " _What a weird combination_." You think to yourself. Although pie probably wasn't a suitable meal substitute, you were hungry either way, and greatly appreciative.

After grabbing two slices of pie, you both head back to the dining room. The table looked unused, but it felt comfortable with Toriel sitting there. And although you weren't much for conversation, you two learn a lot about each other. You were put to shame thinking butterscotch and cinnamon would be strange in a pie, and Toriel says she would happily make more after taking your 5th slice.

There was so much laughing, joking, and smiling at the table. You couldn't remember the last time you felt this relaxed and happy. But just as the thought passed your mind, your head began to drum loudly, giving you such an awful headache. Your hands quickly find their way to your skull as the thumping continued. You felt a pulse resonate throughout your cranium, to your ears, and even your eyes. The pain was intense, yet somehow you felt so numb. The hands pressing hard on your scalp felt as if they were anywhere but.

 _Whispers._

You begin to hear the whispering again. The light begins to make you dizzy, and you begin to hear a muffled voice, not quiet catching who it was. " _Listen to the voice._ "You demand yourself through a lightheaded daze. " _This shit is so creepy, just listen to the voice!_ "

"Dear child!" A warm hand breaks you out of your daze instantly. It was almost as if that fiasco never happened. "My child, are you alright?" She asks, a worried look plastered on her face. Oh man, you felt awful making her worry like this. Although you weren't too sure on what just happened, you reassure her with a smile, moving your hand away from your head only to realize it was stuck.

Your hand was stuck in your hair.

Flustered, you begin to fret, trying to comb your fingers out of the twisted mess. Toriel calmly suggest that you should probably take a shower, yet, there was still concern in her voice. "There should be clothes in your- er, rather, the room you slept in." After nodding in agreement, Toriel guides you to the bathroom. You close the door, and look at yourself in the mirror, realizing your hand was still caught. A groan escapes your mouth, cursing at the heat spreading across your face. You quickly turn away and hop into the shower to escape the embarrassment, and to free your hand.

So much dirt… So many bruises. So many scars… It hurt a bit touching your body, but your neck beat the other pain by a long shot. You start to wonder how you got so beat up, shaking your head vigorously, as if to force the thought out of your mind. Thinking about yourself and your past only made you hear those voices, and horrible headaches it seemed. You just decide to enjoy the hot water on your skin.

The shower wasn't long though. You find yourself in the bedroom looking in the dresser for clothes. Surprisingly, the clothes were somewhat in your style, albeit a bit small. " _I could've probably fit these just a few years back, but, why is there something bothering me about it?_ " Softer than last time, you shake your head, and choose to just put some pajamas on. As you close the drawer, you notice a dusty, empty picture frame with a notebook next to it. Out of respect, you decide not to invade the owners privacy and leave the room instead.

Outside, Toriel is reading again. You tilt your head, and give the book a questionable gaze. She smiles, seeing that you seem better, and beckons you towards her.

"Would you like to know more about this book?" You nod as an answer, and stand behind her. It was a book about snails, or, something. You couldn't really pay attention. The information was definitely interesting, but you could not stop staring at her chest… O-of course it was innocent! You just wanted to- OH GOD SHE CAUGHT YOU STARING! "C-child?" she embarrassedly stuttered, not exactly able to meet your eyes. "Is there something wrong?" You violently whip your head back and forth, looking down, absolutely sure your face had a red hue to it. Nonetheless, your determination pushes you to meet her gaze and held your arms out. Toriel seemed shocked, and you swore you could see tears forming in the corners of her eyes. She smiles as her voice softly whispers,

"I-if that is what you want, I do not mind." Relived, you smile and climb on the chair with her. She felt so soft and so warm, you snuggle beside her and she continues to read. You find yourself drifting asleep as she goes to the next chapter, realizing you missed half of her sentence informs you, "-do not have many defense mechanisms, so they simply blend in with their surroundings." You yawn, surprising yourself, replying with a hoarse voice,

"I guess I don't have to worry about being _'a-salt-ed'_ if I ever got into a fight with one of them." A sudden howl of laughter hits your ears, awaking you from your dream like state. Looking up, you see that Toriel has an amused expression.

"I would be careful young one. You never know if one will come up and ' _slug'_ you."

"Well, snails are really slow, so I'm pretty sure I can dodge in time. I guess we ' _shell'_ see, but I think the chances are very ' _slime'."_

The two of you toss each other terrible snail puns until you once again drift to sleep into her warm embrace.

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Not much talking in this long chapter, but we're getting there!  
Also, my program got mad at me while trying to type bad puns. I don't blame it. They were pretty bad. Anyway, your views and reviews are very much appreciated.  
Ima just go write so more bad puns while feeling like a piece of trash.


	3. Already attacked

This chapter was pretty hard to put out to be honest. I wanted to cut some paragraphs, but I could only shorten them ;_; I really wanted sans to be in the next chapter I guess. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter :D

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Are the whispers getting louder? And what were they even saying? Should you try to listen to them? No, no, of course not, but how do you get them to stop?

It didn't help that you were asleep again, stagnant in your minds inexistent world. You didn't want to wake up again. Even though you've done it so many times now, you still felt as if you would wake back up, and Toriel would have vanished. You wince in your sleep a little.

" _Great, they are getting louder._ " you think to yourself, but you became surprised when another voice you could understand began to speak.

" _Wake up_."You quickly turn around, but there was nothing but darkness behind you. Although afraid, your heart refused the demand. Even with the sheer amount of determination in your soul, you were not brave enough to face your fears. " _Frisk, you must continue on. You must wake up_." You look down and held yourself tightly in a defensive manner. You were still too afraid to. It could wait, you think to yourself that you still have time.

Yet somehow this world became darker, even though there was no light to begin with. The darkness you grew up with, the very same darkness you told yourself you were comfortable with, it frightened you. You were shaking, terrified as the darkness crept closer to you, as if it was planning on attacking. You don't think you were too far off. The whispers start again as the darkness shoots towards you with unreasonable speed. Your eyes shut, tears threatening to fall. " _Please no, no, no, please no._ " Your cracked voice begged as your hands clenched your head, hoping the whispers would go away. Instead of whispers, a chill goes down your spine from the breath on your shoulder.

" **Wake up."**

The demanding voice snapped you back into reality as you jolted out from the nightmare. You lay there, static, not daring to even blink. Your heart begins to beat faster; it was too dark, and for once in your life, you needed light. Clenching the sheets, but never once shutting your eyes, you build up the determination to leave the bed to find the lights.

After jumping out of bed and quickly turning the lights on, you turn around, head twisting to every corner of the room. The feeling on your shoulder felt so real. Was that really just a nightmare?

Suddenly, you start to feel a bit dizzy. You didn't want to be alone, but you also didn't want to disturb Toriel. You could see if Flowey was outside, but you didn't want to get too close to the Underground. _Jeez, were you always this pathetic_? You spend your life Underground yet suddenly afraid of a little darkness?

Heh, it was kinda crazy. It hasn't even been an entire day, yet you felt like you spent so much time here. Though most of it was probably sleeping, the moments you spent with Toriel felt timeless. Deciding not to leave the room, you sit at the corner of the bed, back facing the wall. Pulling the covers up, and placing a pillow on the wall, you decide to camp here for the remainder of the night. You refused to sleep, but ultimately, your exhaustion defeats you. And even though you slept for the remainder of the night, it seemed as if you only blinked.

Once you awoken, a delightful smell filled the air. Your muscles were a bit sore after sleeping in such an awkward position, but it doesn't stop you from jumping out of the bed to eat some food. To be honest, you were probably more excited to see Toriel and eating next to her rather than the act of eating itself. That's probably why when you saw a note instead of Toriel, you had to say you were quiet disheartened. Still, you pick up and read the note.

 _"My child I would like to apologize to you beforehand, seeing that you had to wake up alone. Once I had prepared breakfast, it had come to my attention that we were running out of food. I have simply made my way to the market to pick up anything that we were missing, and will return shortly. Please, help yourself to as much as you like, and put away any leftovers. I will see you soon! Stay safe my child.  
With much love, Toriel."_

Eating wasn't that great. Well, it kept you alive. Plus, it's not like the food tasted bad. _You just wished Toriel was here with you…_

You slap the sides of your face with either hand. You can't think like this! She would be home soon, so there was nothing to worry about. Besides, this was the perfect time to talk to Flowey. The sun was out, and although you didn't want to see the hole, you mustered up the determination to leave the house. Of course, after putting away the leftovers.

Secretly, you were hoping Toriel would have made it home by then, but considering how warm the food was, she probably left just before you had awoken. Lost in thought, you didn't notice till the sun's blinding light scattering everywhere that you were outside. It was as if the golden flowers were endless. There were still patches of broken walls confining you, but you felt so free. This must have been a garden. The door up the small stairway must be the exit of this ruined home. You weren't ready to make it out of there yet.

Breaking free from your mind, you look around for the flower that actually had a face. Flowey made this so difficult though. Each flower looked eerily similar, and you begin to think how weird it must be being a flower monster. You were never good at counting time, but it seemed as if you were searching forever. After letting out an exasperated sigh, you fall to your butt, only to hear a tiny muffled shriek. You quickly jump, and look where you just sat, only to see a crumpled Flowey.

"O-oh jeez, I'm so sor-" You begin coughing. Somehow, your throat still hurt when you spoke. You opt out of speaking and just give the flower a worried gaze.

"Haha, don't worry, it's my fault. I was playing hide and seek, but I didn't think you were gonna just fall on me!" You both laugh for a moment, but seeing that you couldn't really speak, Flowey continues. "So, what brings you out here? Is Toriel not home?" You shake your head. "Ah, so you were feeling lonely and wanted to see me?" Flowey joked. You smiled so widely, your eyes begin to crinkle. You respond with a sarcastic shrug. "So what's up? How are you feeling?" Clearing your throat, you decide it's high time you responded with words.

"Better. Still… hard to talk." Your voice faded as the sentence ended. Flowey just smiled.

"Don't push yourself, I can more or less understand your gestures anyway. Your language isn't the only one I know."

"Hm, what a smart flower."

"Hey, what is that supposed to mean!?" The flower acted offended, but you two only laughed. Flowey asks you a few more questions about your time here, and you answer the ones you know. You told the flower that you had a bit of short term memory loss, and couldn't remember much prior to the events of being pulled up here. Though you felt close enough to tell the flower your fears of returning, you couldn't bring yourself to talk about the whispers. Perhaps you just didn't want to think about them.

"So Flowey… are you a, uh, girl? Or um, a boy?" You blush, scratching the back of your head out of embarrassment. You couldn't tell if what you asked a sensitive question from the expression Flowey was wearing. "I-I mean I don't know if flowers have genders, well, I mean I know they do, but I was never really good at school, and-"

"Do I seem girlish to you? It's because I'm a flower, isn't it…"

"Oh no, no, no, I figured you might be a boy, but I wasn't too sure… er, you know?" He just laughed a bit.

"Yeah, I get you. I don't know how much you know about monsters, but I don't really like talking about myself. I guess it was kind of selfish of me to ask so many question about you. You looked a little troubled with some of them. Just know you never have to answer anything that makes you feel uncomfortable."

"No fair, you can understand me and read my mind too, huh? You got some crazy super powers, for a flower." You both laugh, but you figured he knew you were just trying to lighten the mood. You decided to just continue while you still had the stamina to talk. "Honestly, I wish I could tell you more, but I don't even know how old I am-"

"16." Flowey abruptly sputtered, cutting you off. "I-I mean, you look a little short, but also a bit mature for your height, so I just assumed-"

"I wouldn't say short… Monsters are just really tall-"

"It's not like I was thinking a lot about it, I just thought we were close to the same age or so, since monsters live longer-" You two continue to talk and stutter over each other, until you realize you couldn't take anymore, and burst out laughing. Once the laughter died down, you wipe a tear from the corner of your eye, and smile at him. It almost seemed as if Flowey was blushing again, but you figured he was just as flustered as you were.

"A-anyway, I gotta go. Toriel should be home now! Seeya later, Frisk!" Before you could object, Flowey disappeared underground. You frown and wave at nothing, and began to turn around until it finally hit you.

"When did I tell you my…" Before you could finish, whispers begin to fill your mind once more. You shook your head. Maybe you didn't want to know. You go back inside to find a worried Toriel fretting inside of the dining room. Once she hears the door close, she immediately looks towards you, then smiles.

"Oh my child, I was a bit worried when I could not find you at first. Did you have fun while I was away?" You just smile and nod at her, choosing it was best not to worry her about your current concerns. Instead, you tell her about your day with Flowey.

The day went by much smoother than yesterday, and from then on as well. You would wake up and eat, Toriel would be cleaning or reading, and you would go outside and play with Flowey. You talked about the minuscule things, like what you ate for breakfast, how you were feeling, and he was always able to tell you the amount of time you spent here. After a while, you would eat supper, read something with Toriel, then sleep once more. Some days you stayed inside and read when it rained, and would explore the ruined house when Toriel went out. She never wanted to bring you with her, but you never really questioned her, since you were still a bit scared of seeing the other monsters.

You practically jumped outside once it stopped raining since Toriel left you alone again. It was too dark to play hide and seek, but you had already asked and answered so many questions, you decide to lay down in the flower bed, knowing he would pop up sooner or later.

He knew your favorite color, your favorite books, and even your favorite meal. You remembered when he asked you what was your best attribute, and if there was anything you'd ever want to change about yourself. That day he learned you were a delinquent, but you couldn't really remember why you never got along with others. You stopped there that day, remembering that you didn't want to remember. It always made you feel skittish.

You felt the presence of the monster next to you, but he says nothing for a while, and relaxes next to you. He must have been bored of doing absolutely nothing, because he broke the silence, asking the first question.

"If you're in a bad mood, would you rather be left alone or have someone cheer you up?" You wondered if he was asking this because of the current situation. Maybe he couldn't read minds as well as you thought. Or maybe he knew you better than you knew yourself…?

"I don't like to worry people, and I don't trust them enough to know my problems." Your straightforward answer put a frown on his face, and it looks like he was going to try to say something to lighten the mood, but you just smile and continue. "Humans have always been so untrustworthy and erratic. Monsters on the other hand… You've been so nice and comforted me along the way. I don't like to worry you, but you've been the only one I've ever trusted enough and wanted to confide in." Flowey looks at you in shock for a second before turning away. You laugh softly, imaging his embarrassed face after the praise he just received. "Too sappy?" You asked him once you realized he wasn't turning around.

"Is that really your follow up question?" You shake your head and chuckle slightly at his embarrassed tone.

"What time is it? Rather, how long has it been?"

"I think we've been sitting out here for a while. An hour almost. Toriel might be home soon. It's been 15 days since you've gotten here." You lay there, staring at the cloudy sky awaiting Flowey's follow-up question. It always became cloudy at night around here. You were never able to see the stars you've read so much about. "Hey, what kind of dreams do you have when you sleep at night?" His question immediately breaks you out of thought, and you ponder over whether or not you should tell him the whole truth. _Hell, this is probably the best time out of most anyway._

"I don't really… dream much." You bite your lip, and it looked as if Flowey considered asking another question, but decided to give you a bit more time. You wavered, but continued. "Honestly they're more like nightmares. I hear these whispers in my sleep and some voice telling me to wake up or to leave. Usually I just try to ignore it, but they become so loud sometimes, even if I can't understand them. But they're generally not that bad unless I think of any prior events to being above ground, or um-" You bite your lip once more, and look anywhere but to Flowey.

"What is it?" He began softly. "You can tell me anything." Instead of continuing, you follow up with a question looking him in the eye.

"How did you know my age?" He looked taken aback, not expecting the question, and looks away.

"Like I said, I guessed. You just looked that age-" It wasn't your turn, and you knew you were making Flowey uncomfortable, but you weren't satisfied with the answer. Soft whispers were filling your brain, and you ask another question.

"How did you know my name?" This time he stopped completely. You wait for him to answer, but he doesn't. You get up and begin to walk away, knowing you were being unfair to your friend. The whispers became louder, and you grit your teeth in response, forcing some tears not to fall.

What happened to your patience? Couldn't you wait for your friend to answer you? Your kindness? Did you even think about how this made him feel? Didn't you at least have any perseverance? Why where you giving up now? Couldn't you just be honest to your feelings and tell him how you really felt? No integrity either then, huh?

"Frisk, wait!" Flowey's voice seemed a bit distorted and unrecognizable. Before you even have a chance to consider waiting, you trip from something grabbing your ankle. It was tight and firmly gripping you, and you felt something warm dripping down your skin. You instantly bring your hands and break the vine that is gripping you, only realizing that you were hurting Flowey after he yelled in pain. You look up and see a mirror to your emotions. He showed the same pain, the same guilt, and perhaps even the same fear on his small face.

You stand up but stagger a bit. Once looking down, you see blood running down your foot and on your hands. What kind of friend thought it was just to hurt another friend. But perhaps you were both in the wrong. You turn and run like a coward. Even though you thought you were determined enough to at least apologize, you weren't brave enough to face him.

* * *

Jeez, this was almost 3,000 words! I'm unsure why, but I really dislike writing long chapters like this. Probably because there is so much I'm trying to fit in at once. Anyway, sorry it's been 3 chapters and sans hasn't been introduced yet. I promise he'll be in the next chapter!

The fanart for this chapter can be found here- art/Justanothertale-Chpt-3-656741038

Again, if you have any suggestions about the link situation, please let me know. Thanks~


	4. Already too many puns

You wish you knew how long it had been since you went outside. You and Flowey weren't exactly on speaking terms anymore, but that was probably just an excuse. You could never bring yourself to go outside and face him. It's been hard on Toriel as well. She never really understood why one day it seemed as if the you two were inseparable, yet the next moment it was as if you went out of your way to avoid her. She began to blame herself on top of everything, saying, "If only I wasn't gone so often," or "I should have been paying more attention."

" _I'm just troubling everyone, I should just leave… But where would I go?"_ You shake your head and jump out of the bed, heading to the bathroom. Toriel was sitting inside of the living room, but you didn't look back to greet her yet. You just wanted a few minutes to yourself so you could examine your expression. No matter how you felt, you wanted to keep face for Toriel.

You lock the bathroom door behind you and head straight for the mirror. The dark bags under your eyes was just evidence you haven't been getting much sleep. You had finally started to gain more weight from eating regular meals, but you looked so slim and sickly. You didn't think you were skipping out on that many meals, but staying inside the house doing practically nothing never really worked up an appetite.

Honestly, you looked awful.

Not only did you look awful, you felt it too. You try putting on a smile, but it came across fake and seemed strained. You splash cold water on your face and your gaze returns to the mirror, reflecting a frustrated glare. The reflections face softens, and a sigh parts your lips. The faucet that was left on remained unheard, and every other sound became white noise. You give into the whispers to see if there was anything new.

But there was no use. They say the same few things every time. You couldn't sleep because you were ordered to wake up, and you could never stay in one spot because you were demanded to leave. No matter how much you wish for something new, nothing would change if you never moved forward. That was the only way you could sanely listen to the voices. Yet, even coming to that resolution, you still found yourself doing exactly that.

A knock on the door breaks you from your thoughts, and you suddenly felt the cold chill of the water rushing down your fingers.

"Child, are you alright in there?" Before Toriel could ask anything else, you splash a little more water on your face and respond.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm sorry, I was just washing my face." You turn the water off and dry your chilled hands before opening the door. Toriel towered over you with a worried expression, but you try to reassure her with a smile. It must have been very unconvincing as she takes a hold of your still freezing hand. You first jump to her touch, but relax after feeling her warm fire magic course through your hand, then throughout your entire being. You were finally able to return her response with an affectionate and genuine smile. For once in what seems like a lifetime, she seemed relieved.

"Though I am not fully aware of why, I understand that you have been very disheartened as of late." Toriel began as she led you down the hall. "I was puzzled on how we could move forward from here, but I also wanted to give you some space and time to figure this out yourself. I hope I am not being too overbearing?" You shake your head and offer her a reassuring smile. Still, you felt terrible realizing you made her feel this way. You made a mental note to make sure you didn't worry her from here on out. "Well, I am glad. Throughout this time I spoke with my friends, and one suggested that they meet you. But do not worry," she reply's quickly after seeing the worried look on your face, "they mean no harm, and I am quite sure you all will fare well."

You sort through a million thoughts in your mind as you try to rationalize the fear growing within you. To no avail, you look up to Toriel, beginning to express your discomfort until you hear the door opening. You jump quickly and hide behind Toriel slightly, looking at her smiling face once she placed a hand on top your head. You seriously wondered if she had some type of drug in her magic, as it instantly calmed you. You dig your hands into her clothes, grabbing whatever you could and pressed your head against her side. Though you were still nervous, you felt safe by her, looking up to see two skeletons. You hold on to her tighter as you looked over the two monsters. One was even taller than Toriel, and wore some type of armor paired with a red cape. He had amazing posture, and wore a giant smile. The other wore less daunting clothing. Just a blue sweatshirt and some black shorts draped over his slouched posture. He was probably only half a foot taller than you. _Finally, a monster that was normally sized._

He noticed your silent staring and decided to speak first. "hey, m' name's sans, it's nice to meet you." Before you get the chance to respond the other skeleton spoke first.

"AND I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS. IT IS NICE TO FINALLY MEET YOU, TINY HUMAN." You only nod, a little overwhelmed, but also sure your voice would betray and embarrass you if you tried to speak. It stays awkwardly silent for a while until Sans spoke again.

"uh, didn't mean to rattle your bones or anything, but feel free to speak whenever you feel comfortable. we're a lot to take in all at once." You nod again, not quite getting the joke until Toriel softly laughed.

"She has trouble speaking at times, but I am sure she is just a little nervous at the moment."

"ah, that's fine then. honestly though, if I didn't know you were a human, I would've thought you were a little _hoarse._ " He put a lot of emphasize on the last word, making you break into a smile as Toriel continues to laugh. As the taller skeleton groaned and scolded the smaller one, you were a bit unsure whether or not to come back with your own pun. Your jealousy from seeing Toriel laugh at the puns that were not your own made your mind up.

"Don't worry about it Papyrus, I've heard that one a _pun-dred_ times." The taller skeleton shakes his head in disbelieve, and Toriel continues to fill the room with her laughter. You turn to see sans surprised face, but he fixes his composure, holding a hand out to you while smiling.

"that was a nice one, kid. nice to meet another pun lover." At first you wavered at his gesture, but Toriel lightly pushes you towards him. Her touch filling you with determination, you shake his hand, only to hear a long farting noise. No one says a word and your face brightens from the embarrassment.

"oh boy, it's so quiet in here, you could hear a _cough drop._ " Though still embarrassed, a wide smile spreads across your lips from his pun. Toriel suppresses a giggle, but Papyrus still looked a little upset.

"Sans, that was vulgar, please be sure no flatulence jokes are made here." Papyrus looked proud, assuming that no more puns would be made today, and to be honest, you thought the same.

"ha, sorry Tori. I thought that joke was _tasteless_ , but then again, I have no _tongue_." He opens his mouth and all you see is a dark void of where his organs would be if he had any. This time you join Toriel in laughter while Papyrus continues to scold his brother, insisting that 'the human' didn't want to hear anymore of his lame puns.

"You have to admit though, that one was actually pretty _oregano._ " You didn't want to feed anymore fuel to the fire, but you accidentally slip out one last pun while trying to calm Papyrus. You couldn't help but laugh at your own bad joke as everyone in the room laughed with you. Well, everyone besides Papyrus. He muttered something about you being the 'human spawn of Sans' then literally threw himself inside of the kitchen. You began to laugh even harder, but it was cut off by a sudden barrage of coughs. Toriel leaves you with Sans, trying to reassure you that she would only be gone for a minute while she prepared you a glass of water.

You were nervous, but seeing the same smile on Sans face as he sits at the table beckons you do follow suit. The two of you sit there in silence for a while, listening to Toriel and Papyrus in the kitchen. Papyrus asks her about some cooking techniques and questions some of her methods. She makes a pun about pie and Papyrus gasp in disbelieve. You giggle lightly, then turn your attention to Sans, just now noticing he was just staring at you. You begin to advert you gaze, but once you realized he was still staring, you decide not to falter. Your determination gets the better of you as you make another unspoken competition with Sans, and look him over, taking in as much detail as you could.

Although you try not to completely reimage the skeletons you've seen Underground, you could immediately spot the differences. He had a full bony palm, even though on humans it was just muscle and skin. He always wore this uncanny grin, and was able to speak even with no tongue. His eye sockets seemed larger than a normal human's, you could probably stick your _hole_ hand inside. Maybe you wouldn't want to do that though, seeing there were white pinpricks in his eye sockets. Perhaps there was something tangible in there?

You look closer at his facial features. He showed so much emotion without having any muscles. His ivory skull appeared so smooth. It took all of your being to not reach out and touch him; you just felt so curious.

And it seemed as if he was intently looking over you as well. He scanned every inch of your face to find something, although you weren't exactly sure what that was. That, or maybe he was just feeding into this childish game you were playing. Hearing a loud noise inside of the kitchen breaks you from your intent gaze, making you almost fall out of your chair from the jump scare.

"you alright there, kid?" Sans asks you with a semi-confused, yet still amused expression. You blush from embarrassment, somewhat regretting your immature actions, but smile and respond, hoping you could play it off.

"Yeah, sorry. I was trying to understand you, but it looks like nothing really gets under your _skin,_ huh?"

"really? funny you should say that. most people I know think I'm easy to read. they say they can _see right through me_." You begin to laugh again, but you're interrupted by a coughing fit. Toriel finally brings out a cup of water, and you start to wonder why it took her so long to do so.

"Sorry my child, there was a bit of a… commotion inside the kitchen I needed to tend to first. I will be out shortly, as it seems the situation still requires my attention." She waves and leaves for the kitchen. It seemed obvious she left you alone with the skeleton to see if you fared well with another monster without her. That was until you heard another loud crash from the kitchen, you began to wonder if that was truly the case. You slowly take a sip from your glass, only looking at Sans once he spoke to you.

"so, how do you like it up here so far?" You swear you hear the whispers returning to your head as he ask, but they're so quiet you're able to ignore them.

"So far… I've seen, eaten, and read so many new things. The light sometimes blinds me, and I don't just mean the sun. Everyone I've met has been so kind and welcoming. At first, I was afraid to meet any monsters, but out of the four I've met, I'm not so scared to take on the rest… And it helps that out of those two, monsters seem to like my terrible puns, so I think I can take my chances." You realize by the end of your rambling you were getting too deep for someone you just met, and decide to throw a little joke at the end to cover it up. It seemed to not affect Sans so much, or at least you didn't think it did. He wore the same grin on his face, and at some point you found yourself wondering if he ever made any other expression at all.

" _tibia_ honest, you're not gonna find a lot of monsters who get our sense of humor." Suddenly wishing you paid a bit more attention in school, you try to recall the numerous parts of the skeleton to no avail. He noticed your lack of reaction to the joke, and continued. "common, no response? throw me a bone here kid." You laugh, realizing he was dishearten, and misunderstood your silence.

"Sorry, looks like I'm going to need to brush up on my skelepuns first." Sans shook his head and just shrugged.

"nah, don't be sorry kid, they aren't that _humerus_ anyway _._ " You smile once more at him, breaking his gaze after hearing another noisy crash from the kitchen following some strange "NYEH" sound from Papyrus. Sans chuckled as he stood up, winking at you before he says, "Well, it looks like that's my cue. It was nice meeting you." You stand up as well, holding out your hand to shake his, only to have your face scrunch up, recalling what happened last time. You hold out the opposite hand, hoping he wouldn't be prepared for the same joke, but he just laughs as you two share a normal handshake. You head inside the kitchen with Sans to see Papyrus looking through the drawers and cabinets, and Toriel balancing an abundance of glass cups. You quickly walk over to Toriel to help her put them back in their rightful place.

"hey Papyrus, Undyne called and said she needed help with something urgently. you should probably hurry over there."

"REALLY? IT IS STRANGE SHE WOULD CALL YOU OVER ME, HER BESTEST FRIEND, BUT I SHALLN'T WASTE ANYTIME WORRYING ABOUT IT IF WHAT YOU SAID IS TRUE." Papyrus rushed out of the room and you hear the door slam from the distance.

"Thank you Sans," Toriel sighed, "but did Undyne actually call you?"

"nah, I'll just text her he's comin' over once I get home, which probably means I should leave now if I want to message her in time. I'll lock up on the way out. seeya Tori, and nice meetin' ya kid." Both yourself and Toriel smile and wave as Sans takes his leave. Although you wished you could've spent more time with the skeleton monsters, you decide there was always time tomorrow. Just the thought alone filled you with determination.

* * *

Ah, this chapter was a bit delayed due to the fact that I forced myself to finish chapter 3 art (which you can find on the chapters page). You might not be able to tell, but I'm already tired of drawing flowers, hahaha.

But I'm exhausted. Puns were never for me, no matter if I cracked a smile or two... (or seven) Either way, I'm glad I could finally introduce sans, even if it meant I had to think of all these cheesy puns (which is also harder than I thought.)

Thank you for waiting, reading, and following my work. The next chapter is already on it's way. I see you then;)


	5. Already lost a friend

It's been about 3 weeks since I last posted(So sorry!)

On another note, I wanted to try something new ever since I began to read more works on this site. I've written about 3 chapters worth (compared to my average) of content.

...so... I hope that it uh... makes up for the wait..?

* * *

You could barely sleep last night due to the anticipation of your next day. Well, that and the abundance of nightmares. Waking up in a cold sweat wasn't ideal, but your contrary emotions helped you remain sane for the remainder of the night. After the fourth or fifth time, you decided to stay awake and think about the skeleton monsters. What exactly would you be doing tomorrow with them? Papyrus seemed as if he was interested in cooking. You knew you could at least cook, but you didn't know how well. It didn't help that monster food was also a bit different than human food. Plus, you never really cooked with Toriel. You were usually outside with… oh yea.

Well, Sans seemed a bit more laid back. You two could probably go back and forth just telling each other puns for hours on end. Outside from that idea, nothing else really came to mind. You realized you never really got to ask him anything in-between his question and jokes. Toriel also seemed to trust him with you, so perhaps you could spend this time to get to know him better.

You could… ask him… questions.

You shake your head, gritting your teeth as you jump out of the bed. You take a jacket from the closet, and quietly make your way out of your room. Your determination brought you all the way to the backdoor, but as your hand grasped the doorknob, you hesitate.

You attacked your friend. You physically harmed him. Maybe he really didn't want to see you. And not only did you hurt him, he hurt you. Sure, he messed up your ankle a bit, but he was keeping something important away from you. Somehow, that upset you more than anything. You couldn't stand it anymore though. You had to at least try to make amends, or move forward from this in any case. You take a deep breath in, holding it as you opened and passed through the door. As you heard the door click from behind, gradually, but steadily, you exhale. Memories flood through you almost instantaneously. They weren't exclusive to the most recent events. Just relaxing in the meadow in the mild air, not speaking, nor thinking. There were no whispers, but only the sound of birds and the wind coming into contact with your surroundings. Ignorant to all of the problems around you, you could lay there in such a serene state of mind.

Your legs were jello, but you first step turns into a slow pace. It was hard to see with it being this early in the morning, but you think of Flowey's distinctive qualities.

Flowey had _six_ pedals. No other flower here was like that. _Not that you thought at least._

He was taller than the other flowers… But he could always duck, camouflaging himself easily.

He has a face.

You scoff at your own joke, although terrible, you felt Flowey would have laughed all the same. Your legs come to an abrupt stop whereas your mind continued to race. _Why where you kidding yourself?_ It was too dark, you could barely see your next step. Regardless of the childish acts the two of you presented around each other, Flowey constantly displayed maturity during serious instances such as this. Basically meaning, if he wanted to speak to you, he would've made that clear.

Despite this, you didn't want to give up. You wanted to yell his name, but feared the rejection that came along with it. _If you called for him, would he even come?_ Your contradicting emotions dance inside of your head in turmoil, fighting to become dominate. You silence them, turning your heel back towards your home. You weren't exactly sure how you knew, maybe it was the wind or something, but you look back once more. Flowey was behind you.

His face seemed so devoid of emotion, you couldn't read him at all. " _Maybe it was because of the light_." you thought, trying to reassure yourself.

"Why are you out here?" his voice was cold as ice, it was even able to freeze you in place. It was a legitimate question. You built up the courage to finally come out and face him, yet did you really only come out to apologize to him?

Were you being selfish again? Of course, you felt terrible for hurting Flowey, and _yes_ , you were going to apologize sincerely for that, but you know you wanted to say more. Flowey has his right to share what he wanted to, but you simply couldn't trust him anymore. It sounded shitty, still, you had finally opened up to him. You were scared and vulnerable, yet he decided to reject your emotions instead.

"Flowey, I'm so sorry-"

"Yeah, me too." he quickly snapped at you.

"Listen to me, I'm not fucking around!" you reflected his emotion back to him. You needed to calm down, but that was easily done as you started again. "I hurt you. I don't know how much emotionally, but I _physically_ harmed you. It's okay if you don't want to forgive me, because honestly, I don't." You voice was broken by this point, but you refused to cry, and stood tall to your sentiment. His pained expressions was probably a mimic of your own. It remains silent, looking at Flowey's face for any clues as to what he was thinking to no avail. You began to think how unfair that he was probably reading you like an open book. Once the silence became to deafening to bare, you try to speak up, only to be cut off by Flowey.

"I'm scared of you, Frisk." Your eyes widened at the obvious use of your name. "You could easily hit me once, and my entire existence would cease then and there."

"Flowey I would never-" Flowey's distorted laughter interrupts you.

"Cut the crap! _'Humans have always been so untrustworthy and erratic.'_ " His voice imitated you. Your legs began to shake, and sweat formed on your forehead. Him mocking you, your weakness, everything was so humiliating. "Stop lying to yourself, Frisk. You'd dust any of us in a second for your own gain! It's so spot on, it makes me sick!" Your entire body began to tremble as you started to hyperventilate. This wasn't right. This wasn't your friend. " _Hahaha_ , and you'd probably laugh while you're doing it too, just like she- just like-" His voice reduced to nothing before he was able to finish. He finally took a long look at your shattered state. You were standing, but felt you could collapse at any moment. Your breathing was exceptionally audible, as your shaken form desperately gasped for air. The memory of this pain tore into your heart. You didn't want to remember, but your mind wouldn't stop racing around the thoughts.

"You're scared of me too, huh?" Flowey voice finally lowered, as he asked matter-of-factly. You bit your lip, wanting to say something, but knew your voice would betray you. He decided to continue, probably understanding your body language. "I understand. It would be so easy to kill you. Seeing that you're this defenseless. You're practically a deer in headlights right now." He lets out a tragicomic laugh before tearing up. "I'm scared I'll hurt you too, Frisk." A single cry escaped your lips before you sealed them once more. You step towards the flower, but his glare stops you in your tracks.

"I don't want to speak to you. Don't come out here to look for me anymore. I won't show up. Whatever you do up from here," he looks towards the hole leading to the underground, "it's up to you." With that, he disappeared into the ground. You couldn't stay here any longer. You knew he was just waiting for you to go, so you quickly turn around, making your way back into the house. You close the door and slowly slide down to the floor. Broken sobs quietly escaped you, as you tired not to wake Toriel. You tried to cover your mouth, but it only seemed to make it worse once you noticed you were still shaking.

 _"Just get to your room. I can't have Toriel see me like this."_ You think to yourself. You stand up and walk towards the exit of this room, but whether it was you shaky legs, or the uncontrollable sobs, you couldn't even make it pass the dining room table. Deciding to make that your pit stop, you sit down and try to get better control of yourself. You wipe the tears from your face, and prop your elbows on the table so that you could rest your head into your hands. You first had to stop the crying. It didn't matter how fast you could get into your room. Toriel would hear you once you stepped into the hallway.

You start by taking deep breaths. With the tears no longer the problem, you just needed to normalize your breath for now. Your brain gingerly dances around the sudden emotion that ate at you. You felt this type of pain before. Even though you subconsciously try to push the feeling in the depths of your brain, you could feel something else, gnawing at the corners of your mind.

Someone close to you left you? But you couldn't remember being attached to anyone underground. Then again, there was still so much you couldn't remember. You knew deep down, you didn't want to remember, yet something that wasn't you, somewhere in your head, it wanted you to remember everything.

Right, the whispers.

For once, those voices remained silent. Perhaps you really did want to know what happened in your past. You couldn't reason why someone, rather, _something,_ else would want to make you remember your history. Besides, it was either acknowledge the voices, or have them continuously yelling at you until it drove you insane.

Just as you decided to accept the voices, you hear them again. Only this time, you could somewhat make out what… _it_ was saying.

"I͂͛̊͜ţ̑́̽̍̚҉͞'ͪ̍s̵̓̀ͬ́́̎̑͠.̵̢̊͗̓͂ͧ̊͑.͗̓͏̶̴.̄ͥ͗͝ ̡̏̏͝ǫ̑̄k̡ͯ̾̂̇͋̀̚͘a̓̈̈́̌ͬ͑̒̓͟y̴ͧ́͆̂͡.̛ͯ̈́̍͒ͤ҉.ͧ̈̅̉ͩ͛͗ͬ.̶̡̂ͦ͑͜ ͧͫͦ̆́t̸̀̓̏ͣͨ̂͗ͥ̆͝o̧ͨ̉ͣ͑ͪ.̶̆̎̏͑͟.̢̌͑͟.̶̌ͦ̅͝ ̒̇͟r̵̋̀ͯ̔́ę͒͛̃̇͆m̢̓ͪ̇͟e͊ͨͪ́̌ͯ̐m̡͂̇̑ͭ̆͢b̢ͮ͐ͦͩ̎̃e̵ͮ̂̐̆ͥ̈́̋͝r̵̨̒̇̀̒͝.̨ͩ" It spoke slowly, hopping around different octaves, glitching between being coherent and not. "Y͖̣͈͚͇̺͈ou̼͙̕ ̠̰͕̭̀ḩ͈̤̙a̤̲v̪̫̦̦͈e͚̻͉̥̤͉̤ ̝͕͉̲͖̖ͅt̗͚̘̫͉̫o͇͎̱͖.̖.̱̪̠.͕͉̲͈͕̘͓ ̠̩͝t͔o̗͈̜͎̰̦̱ ̣̫̯̰̟͘s̨̬̲̹a̝̩͚̮̗v̮̻ȩ̪͚͔̪̼ͅ.̖̤̘.̘͈͡.̲̲͢ ͙͞th̫̠͈̦e̲̞̲͈̺̠̻͝m̞̣̫̭̲..̣͉̹ͅ.̭̭͓̦͍̝ͅ"

 _What? Save who? Who am I trying to save?_ You try speaking to it, but as your stomach twist and your mind turns, the voice screeched at you, jumbling unintelligible words in your brain. You try to sort them out, but it keeps yelling, not only giving you a migraine, but it also made it impossible to logically think. Your ears begin to ring as its voice echoes inside of you. You swear you could hear something calling out your name over and over again. Oh, wait.

Your head snaps back towards the voice. It was Toriel wearing a concerned expression. _Jeez, has it even been a day when you promised not to hurt her like this?_

"My child, are you felling unwell?" Her hands shoot up to your face, but you blankly stare at her. _Toriel knows your name as well. Who **wasn't** hiding anything from you?_

You realize Toriel started using her healing magic once you didn't respond. Shaking your head, you just smile at the monster.

"I'm fine, I'm sorry." You began to cough. Did this happen every time you cried? "I was really thirsty last night, I must of slept walked all the way here. Guess I never got there, haha." You finish in a raspy voice.

"Let me grab you that glass of water." Toriel straightens herself out and quickly makes her way to the kitchen. You take this time to relax your fake features, sighing through your clenched teeth. Before you get the chance to snap back to your phony expressions, you hear two knocks on the door and see Sans come through it.

"hey Tori, I brought the- uh, oh. hey there kid." Sans was holding a bag full of what you thought to be groceries. He seemed to be examining something, you just assumed it was your face. _Shit, that's right._ He just saw you at a vulnerable moment.

"Knock knock." Strangely enough, the features on his skull began to change into a questioning look. Bones shouldn't be malleable, but it seemed as if his eyebrow raised. Bone-brow? You suddenly wanted to touch his face.

"who's there?" Glad he took the bait, you exhale, not even knowing you were holding your breath to begin with. _Easy there, at least try to be convincing, Frisk._

"You."

"you who?" His questioning looked changed back into a normal one.

"Yoo-hoo." You beckon him towards and his smile widens as he plays along. Once he sits down, you start again. "Knock knock."

"who's there?"

"Orange." Sans smile seemed to widen further. Did he know this joke? You didn't even know the joke. You had no idea where you were going with this.

"orange who?"

"Orange you gonna finish your joke?" A smile still placed on his face, he gave you a quizzical look. "You knocked twice… You never… finished." Your joke fell flat, but you blame the lack of sleep for that one. Regardless of that, Sans still chuckled at your joke, and told you it was a good one. Toriel comes out of the kitchen looking a little distraught, placing your water next to you as she looks at Sans.

"Oh Sans, I am so terribly sorry. I was so worried about, oh um…" You crack a smile, knowing she was just about to say your name. Why did this seem so fucked up?

"Frisk." You laugh a bit. "Wow, I've been here for so long, I don't ever think I properly introduced myself. Sans, Toriel," You look their perspective ways, "my name is Frisk." Toriel seems to tense up, then relaxes. Sans smile looked a bit strained while he stared at Toriel, but he looked to you with a grin.

"Frisk, huh? nice name." You decide to just nod.

"Thanks. And sorry, looks like you caught us at a weird time. I was sleepwalking to the kitchen, but it looks like I never made it." You were about to finish with a pun, but Sans beat you too it.

"huh, guess you were _bone-tired_ then?" You laugh and slightly nudge the monster, selling your act to a T. You remember lying a lot in the underground, so was this normal? Would you be doing it a lot now?

"Oh no fair, I was _dying_ to say that one!" You were almost disgusted with how natural you had sound. It was apparent to you that humans were revolting creatures, but you never once thought you would sit here and lie to these monsters faces.

"Oh Sans, since you're here, you should have breakfast with us!" Toriel exclaims, clasping her hands together.

"sure thing Tori. could never turn down a meal from you." Sans nonchalantly rest his head on the back of his hand, leaning backwards onto the table. You really wondered if this skeleton liked Toriel. He sure had the body language for it, but then again, you didn't know these two well. Not as well as you thought at least.

"Oh lovely. Frisk, would you like to help out? I could sure use the extra hand." She asked smiling softly at you. You weren't sure how long you could keep up this facade. Not that it was taxing on you in any way, you just felt sick doing it.

"Actually I'm going to go wash up real quick. Since it's the morning ya know?" You get up, not waiting for Toriel to respond. On your way towards the hallway, you hear her silent agreement to your request, not that it really mattered anyway. It's not like she'd force you to do anything. _So why were you suddenly mad at her?_ _Where you trying to lose more friends?_ You smiled wryly a bit at that. Upon listening the door of the bathroom click, you can faintly hear Sans and Toriel whispering to each other.

"Oh dear, I think… Perhaps, do you think I made her feel uncomfortable?" Jeez, she's such a sweetheart.

"nah, don't be so hard on yourself Tori. she probably just had her bones rattled when I showed up like that. she just needed to get ready before having a guest, like how you clean before having company over, ya know?" Sans was such a good friend. _You on the other hand?_ Speaking of, you probably shouldn't be ease dropping on their conversation. You quickly strip and make your way to the shower, but while you passed the mirror, you suddenly see a black, ominous figure standing behind you. You screech, and promptly fall backwards. You quickly look towards the wall, but nothing was there.

" _Whoa, what the fuck…"_ You say quietly while letting out a nervous laughter, almost a bit scared to stand up and look again. You jump again, started by the two knocks on the door, following Sans' voice.

"hey, you ok in there kid?" Seeing the doorknob twist slightly, you quickly jump to your feet, your skin probably some shade of red.

"I-I-I'm fine! Please don't open the door! I just t-tripped on a-" You down, and let out a laugh. "I tripped on a sock." He laughs as well, but you're still shaky on that image you saw in the mirror. It was just you now. Perhaps you were seeing things from the lack of sleep.

"ah, I _toe-tally_ get it. it's like their _sole_ purpose is to trip you. next time you get the chance, just _sock_ it to 'em!" You laugh, not just from his puns, but from hearing Toriel's booming laughter from the kitchen. You're only able to get a small 'go away' in between your laughter as you turn on the shower. You let this shower last long. After feeling the hot water on your skin, it was almost hard not to stay in. You were a little jumpy every now and then, after seeing that… _thing_ inside of the mirror, but you assure yourself you were imagining it.

"A҉̵̢͟͡s͡҉k̢.̸̶̢͢.̛͜͢͜.̴̧͘͏ ̛͜h̀͠į̢͢͠m̸͘͟.̶̛͞.̸̧.̵̡̛́" You sighed. _Really? In the shower again? Can I get a little privacy?_ You asked. Maybe it was a bit silly… Then again, the voice never responded after that. _Good, thanks_. You add, not knowing if what you were saying was actually helping. You felt a little ridiculous, but after not hearing the whispers, you make a note to yourself to try talking to it next time. You still weren't entirely sure if the voice was your conscious or not, so you should probably make an effort to see whether it was trustworthy enough to listen to.

It takes the water getting cold for you to finally step out of the shower. Slowly, you leave the bathroom, pleased to see no ominous figure staring at you. Faster than you left the bathroom, you head to your room, enjoying the soft, safe click of the door that closed behind you. You listen to Sans and Toriel's soft laughter's in the other room, obviously enjoying each other's company.

Sure, believe you can't trust them. That's fine. But you knew Toriel has shown you nothing but compassion since you've met her, and Sans was honest to her. He trusted her. These monsters were not trying to hurt you, so it would be unfair to judge them before finding out their reasoning. You try to find some more fitting clothes, but everything inside of your drawer cut off in odd places, showing numerous parts of your skin. Seeing how these clothes did not fit you seemed familiar in some sort of way. Small patches of your memory clouds inside of you mind that you set aside for later. You decided today you needed to move forward, even if it meant remembering some of the painful memories.

Walking out the room, you see Toriel and Sans sitting at the table, food already placed. You sit across Toriel, and noticed neither of them have touched their food yet. Awkwardly, you pick up your utensils and begin to eat. Toriel sensed your discomfort and forwarded the conversation.

"So Sans, how is Papyrus fairing?"

"same as usual. he went on his morning jog with Undyne. they probably have a few more miles to go though."

"Oh, those two are lively as usual. Though, I wanted to ask, if the two of you were not busy if you would like to join us for lunch or dinner?"

"hm, Pap has cooking lessons with Undyne after their run, but he could probably make dinner. I have 6 jobs today I think…," You don't know what kind of face you were making, but as Sans went to take a bite of food, he quickly took note of your facial features. He looked nervous, and you realize he had even began to sweat a bit. _How is that even possible?_

You turn away, realizing that you were staring. It only came to your attention then that you had in fact, not seen him eat a single bite. Perhaps he was a nervous eater? Then again, anyone would be uneasy if they caught someone just staring at them.

"…but who's counting? I could hang out if that's okay with Frisk." Your head swung back to him in disbelief. Sans must have felt guilty after seeing your face. Or perhaps you should say pity… You quickly change your expression to a skeptic one.

"I mean, I'm not that great at math, but I think you just did." While Sans grins at your comeback, you take a sip of water before continuing. "We can always hang out another day, I mean, you have six jobs, right?"

"nah, they'll be fine without me for a day. well, probably not my last job." Sans' face seemed to light up as if he came up with an idea. "hey, now that I think about it, I was talking to Tori about coming to my last gig. you should come to, I think you'd like it!" Though you weren't too sure what he meant, the giddiness in Sans' expression made it almost impossible to even think about saying no. Before you could answer though, you both turn after hearing Toriel's worried hum.

"I am unsure if… I mean, the show does have its mature moments…" The face Sans made almost copied your previous expression upon hearing the bad news. Though disheartened, you smile just a bit seeing a skeleton make such cute and childish expression. It wasn't before long that his facial features changed. You looked up to find the cause, only to see Toriel looking at her phone with an anxious and distressed gaze. You had never seen her eyes red, and just before you were able to stand up and ask her what was wrong, she let out a tense, slight laugh.  
"Oh dear, it seems that I actually have some important business to attend to. I deeply apologize to the both of you, but this problem acquires my immediate attention. You slightly relax, knowing that it wasn't uncommon for Toriel to have to up and leave. Still, the look on her face, and the color of her eyes made you feel uneasy. "If you do wish to go Frisk… I only ask you go unnoticed. There will be a lot of commotion knowing that there is a human above ground." You smile and nod excitedly. You look over to Sans to see that he was grinning ear to ear, well, if he had ears.

"don't worry Tori, I'll take good care of her." Toriel smiles at Sans, but was still noticeably worried.

"Yes, I trust you Sans, it's just…" Toriel stops herself, biting her lip before she decided to drop it. "it's nothing. You two stay safe, and have fun. Oh, I regret to ask this of you, but would you be able to clean up? I wish I could, but it seems I do not have the time." You walk over to the troubled monster.

"It's okay Toriel." You smile at her and hold her hand. You might not have any healing power, but the action alone seemed to have calmed her nerves. She smiles at you and places a hand on top of your head, as to say thank you, kisses your cheek and leaves. Toriel was one to show her love physically, but you still couldn't help yourself and blush, knowing Sans was there the entire time. Even so, Sans just smiles at you, then begins to pick up the plates.

"How about I wash the dishes, and you dry them?" You suggested, taking out a small stepstool. The sink was a little too high for you, but you blamed the monsters for being too tall. Well, now that you think about it, Sans was about your height, so he also might have trouble with this…

"sure, sounds like a plan." You look over to see he was sitting on the counter, a dry cloth in one hand, while he leaned back with the other. You smile at him, seeing how comfortable he looked, then went to wash the dishes. "so kid, how're feelin'? looks like you're doing ok now, but you looked a little off today." You looked over to him, surprised how straight forward he was. You only knew him for about a day, but then again, these monsters you met so far seemed very perceptive. Sans seemed genuine, so perhaps you shouldn't lie. You hand him a plate.

"I'm unsure if Toriel told you, but I used to hang out with a flower monster named Flowey outside in the garden. We used to talk to each other about everything… heh, well, almost everything. He was hiding something from me about myself, and instead of giving him his space, I tried forcing an answer from him. It's just, I wanted to trust him, but how can I if he's keeping something that important away from me?" You bit your lip, and watched the suds pop. "Toriel is the exact same. I want to trust her, but I want her to trust me with that information too. It makes me wonder, are you hiding something from me too?" _Great, you really were trying to ruin more friendships today._

"ya, I am." You quickly look up at him, surprised he admitted it with such confidence and no hesitation. He was holding his hand out, gesturing for you to hand him the plate, and continues after receiving the overly clean dish. "I don't know much about it, but I spoke with a doctor about your memory loss. it's a pretty touchy subject apparently. she thinks it would be best for you to remember everything slowly, since it could be risky to figure out so much at one time. your brain is shielding those memories for a reason, so there's no point on trying to force them all out right away, you get what I'm sayin'?" You nod and smile at the skeleton, feeling a sudden surge of relief.

"I understand. Though, it would've saved me a lot of distress if she had just told me sooner." You try to joke, but when you look back at Sans, you're only met with a serious gaze.

"Tori would never want to lie to you. she only wants to protect you." You knew you were blushing, and began to wonder when you found the plate in your hand so eye catching. You knew you had to respond though, so you nod and quietly and say thanks. Your heart was felt warm after considering the amount compassion these monsters had. You still missed Flowey, but you sure felt a hell of a lot better than earlier this morning. You hand the dish to Sans to see his wide grin, only realizing then that you had the same expression as him. After he takes the place, you give him a teasing glance.

"So, you speak so highly of Toriel. Even got a cute nickname for her and everything. What, you like her or somethin'?" His face turns a bright shade of blue. I-is he blushing? How was this possible? He had no blood, right? _This is fucking absurd!_ Despite that, you had an overwhelming urge to touch his face again. _Would it be warm?_

"common kid. w-we're j-just friends. good friends. I have a nickname for all my friends…" He still looked nervous, but you just giggled and let it go.

"Sure." You say, poking your finger right above his nasal bone. You left a bit of soap residue on him, and you couldn't help but laugh. The lights in his eye sockets cross, obviously a bit disturbed with the scum on his face. Before you get the chance to apologize, he puts down his plate, grabs a handful of soap and drags it across your face. He laughed at the faux shocked expression you wore, and tapped his finger on the tip of your nose, just as if to put a cherry on top.

The two of you went back and forth for a while, stuck in a silly laughing fit. While trying to dodge one of his attacks, you find yourself slipping on some stray soap on the stool. Quickly, your instinct takes over, and you try to grab onto anything to keep you steady. Unfortunately, that happened to be Sans' jacket. You promptly fall back first onto the floor, hitting your head in the process. You grimace at the pain and try to bring your hands to your head, but something was blocking you. Your eyes snap open after feeling a cool hand touch the side of your face.

"hey, you okay?!" His concern seemed to drown out. You were focused on his features. The hand that tried to make its way to your head was lightly pressing on his rib cage. He was knelling over you, but there was so much space in between the two of you. This monster was indeed, a skeleton. "shit, kid, you're not okay?" Another hand touches your cheek. You couldn't tell if your face was just extremely hot, or if his hands were just that cold. You'd obviously been staring for long enough, so you sit up and nod, trying to reassure him that you were fine. You slightly push him away as you got up.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just a little started, yeah?" _Your heartbeat didn't sound too convincing._ He seemed puzzled at your body language, and looked at your face, almost as if he was quizzing it. Monsters were so perceptive, you honestly wouldn't be surprised at what he figured out. Not that you wanted him knowing anyway. Finally, he relaxes and resumed his normal grin.

"jeez, we gotta make sure we tie your shoes up tightly tonight." He stretches and begins to massage the back of his shoulder blade. _Or perhaps it's the scapu- scapular?_ You made a mental note to study the human skeleton once more. He was still sitting on your legs… "don't want you fallin' for anyone else." Sans said the joke so nonchalantly, you figured he was getting revenge since you were teasing him earlier. Perhaps he was looking for some type of reaction. You just snort and lightly swipe the side of his jacket. He felt so fragile, you didn't want to hurt him. Still, he held his arm, pretending you hit him. "man, you're one helluva sock." This time you burst out laughing, pushing him off of your legs. He stands up and extends a hand, helping you up as well. "so since we're done with that, now what? what do you normally do around here?"

"Hmm, not much really. When Toriel leaves, I usually just read." You couldn't really mention Flowey in this case. He didn't want to see you right now. "Though, there's not a lot to read…"

"hmm… there are a few books on my phone if you wanted to check them out. there are also a few games too." He pulls out his phone and hands it to you. You immediately turn it on, but everything feels so foreign to you. Perhaps you had seen a phone like this before, but it was expensive, and extremely hard to come by. If you wanted one, you would probably have to steal one… _Where you a thief?_ You navigate your way through the phone and accidentally open an app. The sudden burst of music startled you, making you drop the phone that Sans quickly snatched. "whoa careful there kid. huh, looks like you know how to use this thing, you had one before?" You shake your head.

"No, not one quiet like that. That looks… expensive. Whatever fell down is what we had. It was sorta like scavenging I guess. First come first serve type of thing. It meant you had to be there at the right moment, but it wasn't that good of a pay out in the end. Most of it was just junk anyway."

"huh, looks like you remember a lot more that you thought?" Sans was right. A sea of memories flooded your brain. Sometime in your past you foraged the caves in search of anything. Books, toys, and on rare occasions, packaged food. You remember laughing, splashing about with people, perhaps some who were also there to find different items. You smiled at the memory, but you couldn't help but feel glum.

"I don't know. There was another part of the cave, closed off to the general public for safety purposes. If you could bypass the security, you could see this… how do I even describe it? On the cave ceiling there were these glowing worms that kind of replicated stars. It was their way of hunting bugs, but gosh, it was so phenomenal. I've never been able to see anything like it again. Though," you sigh, remembering where you were, and remembering how the Underground made you feel. "it never came close to the stars I've seen in books. I wonder how I will react when I see those." Sans looked at you, confused.

"wait, you've been here for a while, right? you've never seen the stars?" Once again, you shake your head at him.

"It's always cloudy here at night. I'm unsure why, sense it's usually clear in the morning." Sans' grin dropped, and you swear you could hear him shakily exhale. "What's wrong?" You hold up a hand, but quickly dropped it, considering how you sort of just met the monster.

"Some places above ground, the surroundings or the weather can change due to large amounts of magic buildup. Typically, this only occurs in high traffic areas, but Toriel is such a strong monster, I'm not surprised she can make a cloud or two overhead." You never realized Toriel had such power, but then again, she never really talked about herself. You weren't even able to ask Sans why clouds, or why it only happened at night. He just shook his head and crossed his arms. "it's not really my place to say why. you gotta ask Tori about that." You had to keep in mind that monsters were very exceptional at reading expressions. Still, you nod, respecting him for keeping her privacy. His face finally lifts to its original shape before he begins again. "I could show you though. the stars that is. though, first you should probably put on some more appropriate clothes…"

"Really?" You ask, perhaps just a little too enthusiastic. You dial it down a bit. "Oh, well, I don't really have much here. Nothing really fits me…" Sans puts a hand to his chin, and stares at you hesitantly for a moment.

"hey, I know a shortcut. take my hand. and close your eyes. you'll get sick if you don't." You look at him with uncertainty, but slowly and cautiously, you take his hand and close your eyes. "it's going to be a bumpy ride, so hold on tight." Sans pulls you closer, and you suddenly feel like your feet lift off the ground. Fearful from the current situation, you throw yourself onto Sans, feeling you stomach flip and holding on tightly in hopes you wouldn't fall for a third time today. It was only for a few moments, but your feet finally met solid ground. You weren't exactly ready for the abrupt change, as your knees gave in, Sans quickly caught you, holding you up. You two stayed like that for a good minute, until Sans finally spoke up. "you can open your eyes now, kid."

Your eyes snap open, and you let out a breath you didn't know you were holding. Sans looked down at you, with an obvious amused expression on his face. You let go of the smug skeleton, but couldn't help but let out a small, yet nervous laugh.

"What was that-" Your sentence falls as you look at your surroundings. "Wait, where are we?" You look back to where Sans was standing, only to see he was halfway up some stairs.

"my place. well, mine and Paps. I'll be right back, feel free to make yourself at home." And with that, he walked into what you assumed was his room. Well, you might as well take him up on his offer. You look around the lower level of the house. The first thing that caught your eye was a gigantic flat screen TV. Across from it sat a green, comfortable looking couch. You jumped and sank into the couch, wondering what could have been done on it to sink like this. You hop up and walk to another side of the room, grinning widely upon seeing a joke book. Strangely enough, inside you find a quantum physics book. _Weird._ You open the quantum physics book to find another book about jokes. _What?_ You quickly open the joke book to find another quantum physics book.

You close the book.

There was a bookshelf on the other side of the wall, however you felt a bit wary about opening them. Thankfully, theses books weren't gags, and actually had fascinating information inside of them. It was nothing like Toriel's collection, though, most of hers ranged from cook books to information about snails. Some cookbooks about snails as well… You never really understood her fascination with the creature, nevertheless, you still enjoyed learning about them with her.

"alright kid, you should try these on." Sans startled you, making the book fall from your hands as a result from you jumping. He walked over to you to hand you the clothes and pick up his book. You were beginning to apologize, but he spoke first. "you interested in this? you can borrow it if you want to. any of these books for that matter. I've read them all."

"Really? Cool, thanks!" The two of you smile at each other before he remembers what you really came here for.

"alright, go try on the clothes. the bathroom is upstairs on the left." You nod any make your way upstairs. As you walked into the bathroom, you wondered if skeletons had any use for one. And now that you think if it, it seemed Toriel only used it to clean her fur off after cleaning or cooking. You were sure there was a reason these monsters had toilets, but you figured you could ask that question another day.

You strip and look in the mirror. It was only you. You looked healthy, but you obviously needed to gain some weight. The bruises were still prominent on your skin, but you didn't feel as disgusting as you did before. A little self-conscious maybe, sure, but you could deal with that. You decided you had enough of looking at your half nude form and put on the clothes Sans had given you. The shirt flooded over you, and somehow his pants were a bit to big fit you. Did Sans have wide hips? _Did he even have hips?_

You zip up the hoodie, tighten up Sans' sweatpants, and put on some ridiculous looking gloves. You looked like a baggy mess, but hopefully that would keep anyone from staring too much at you. You didn't want to stare at yourself. _Hey, it's already working!_ You put on a mask that covered your mouth and nose and walk out of the bathroom. Sans was sitting on the couch, reading the book you had dropped. You studied his posture, as he slouched into the couch, his leg lazily crossing over the other. You could tell this was obviously his house, seeing how relaxed he was. Then again, knowing how laid back the skeleton was, he could probably comfortably sit like that anywhere. Once you made your way down the stairs, he looked over to you, placing a silly grin on his face and holding his thumbs up. You laugh and repeat the gesture. He puts a hand on his chin and stares at his clothes spilling over you.

"you know, I'd offer you my cardboard belt, but that'd probably just be a _waist_ of paper."

"Ha, you should be more worried about your sweater. It's so nice I might _jacket._ " You both laugh at your own jokes, and you plop down on the couch. Sans took this time to show you his interesting book. It was about a variety of minerals in the earth, and you were able to recognize some from the Underground as well. It wasn't before long you realized Sans was a science nerd. Though you never really found much interest in the subject at first, watching him explain things with such passion filled you with curiosity. You were eager to find out what was on the next page. It was so fascinating to see what expression the skeleton could make, seeing how excited he would get explaining it to you. Sure, Toriel could also get this passionate when she read about snails, but perhaps it was because Sans' face seemed less malleable, you were more and more curious about this subject.

Disappointedly, just like everything in life, the book ended. You could still see the wide grin on his face, and the brightness in his eyes though, as he went on explaining some theories he had of his own.

"well, enough about that. probably bored ya, huh? sorry, didn't realize I got so into it."

"Nonono, I loved it. I'm glad you were here to read it for me. I wouldn't be able to understand half of the stuff in the book if you didn't explain it to me." You wave your hands in defense and his eyes lit back up.

"well, if you do want to borrow these books, I suggest you read this first. it'll definitely help." He went back on talking for what seemed to be hours. You couldn't help but smile. It made you feel determine to find out who you truly were. Maybe you could also talk about something with this much fervor. After Sans was finished, he decided to show you some videogames to 'stop himself from boring you,' or something in that sense. Though you really didn't mind, you were also interested in what videogames were. You played a simple fighting game with him. Although he showed you the controls and went easy on you, it was a bit difficult to get the hang of it. By the fifteenth game though, your determination led you to victory, to Sans' surprise. You were so into the game, you barley heard the front door open.

"HELLO SANS. HELLO SANS NUMBER TWO WEARING MY GLOVES." Papyrus walks by you two, but realizes what he said, and performs a cartoon like double take. The two of you laugh at Papyrus' reaction, and Sans explains his plans on taking you to work.

"WELL IT SEEMS THE TWO OF YOU HAD A VERY ENVENTFUL DAY. HONESTLY, IF I DID NOT KNOW ANY BETTER, I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT YOU WERE A REPLICA OF MY BROTHER, HUMAN. HIS ATTIRE FITS YOUR HEIGHT WELL."

"Oh common Papyrus, you can't really compare me to Sans. Those are some pretty big shoes to fill." Sans laughed slightly at your joke, but it flew right over Papyrus' head.

"DO NOT WORRY HUMAN, THE WAY MISS TORIEL DESCRIBES YOU, I AM QUITE SURE YOU WOULD FIT THEM FINE."

"easy with the foot jokes, or else _heel_ get mad." You giggle at the subtle pun. It seemed Papyrus was catching on.

"SHOULD I LEAVE? I FEEL LIKE I SHOULD LEAVE." You quickly stand up, though it was a bit hard to wipe the grin from your face, you speak to him seriously.

"No, don't, I'm sorry. I'm really glad, I wanted to see you today." You smiled at Papyrus. His cheeks seemed to glow a bright orange color. Again with the blushing, magic was bizarre.

"W-WELL, OF COURSE, ANYONE WOULD BE HAPPY TO MEET WITH THE GREAT PAPYRUS. I… I AM ALSO HAPPY I WAS ABLE TO SEE YOU TODAY. IF YOU WOULD LIKE, WE SHOULD HANG OUT TOMORROW AS WELL!"

"Yeah, if you're not busy, I'd love that." After deciding your plans for tomorrow, the three of you continue to play games. You were shown numerous dice, board, and card games as well. Even though you were looking forward to it all day, you were a bit disheartened when Sans said the two of you should probably leave for his gig.

"I just need to read Pap a bed time story, I'll be back in a bit." Sans said, basically carrying his brother up the stairs. The height difference sometimes made it difficult to tell the age difference between the skeletons, but seeing how Sans took care of his brother made it clear that he was indeed, the older of the two. You sit back on the couch, re-reading the book Sans showed you earlier today trying to remember each and every expression he made. One day, you were definitely going to need to touch his face. For now, you had to let do with just wondering how it was possible, though the suspense was killing you. Before you knew it, Sans was holding his hand out in front of you.

"you might not like it kid, but we need to take another shortcut." You frown, and the good mood you were in was long but gone. You take his hand and he helps you up, pulling you a bit closer before saying, "ready?" You nod and shut your eyes, feeling the gravity slip away, forcing your feet off the ground. Your stomach preformed back flips, cartwheels, and summersaults simultaneously. You tried to anticipate the moment your feet would meet the ground, but you were thrown off, falling into Sans once more. Steadily, he held your weight, studying your expression carefully. You look up to him, a bit embarrassed that, whatever this was, made you so sick.

"What, no falling or shoe jokes?" You ask, testing your balance but still clinging to Sans.

" _frayed knot_."

"Pft," and a light elbow nudge to Sans' ribs was all you could let out. Once you felt confident in standing, you push away from Sans. "So what was that?"

"hm? what was what?" He began to walk inside a building with a giant glowing sign reading 'MTT'. He knew what you were talking about.

"That… the teleporting thing! You can teleport?" He just laughs a bit at you, walking into the building, being greeted by a variety of monsters. Two monsters in ties, possibly some type of receptionist, welcomed Sans and yourself upon entering. The two of you walk past a green dragon looking creature, speaking frantically on their phone about some cold pizza. You struggle to keep up with Sans' casual stride as you take in your surroundings. From across the room, some.. dark mass with one eye just stared at you. You froze in place, unable to break the eye contact. You felt almost stripped naked, as if the monster was staring into your soul. You only ever felt this vulnerable in your nightmares, while those voices practically shrieked at you. _Speaking of._

"hey buddy, you coming?" Sans' voice breaks you from the staring monster, and you didn't dare to look back at it. You hurriedly made your way to Sans, taking care that you kept pace with him. "yeah, I can teleport. for monsters though, it's not that big of a deal. I was wondering how you would take to it, since humans don't really use magic. there's a lot of explaining that goes with it though, I could tell you more later if you're up for it." You couldn't help that stupid grin that spread across your face. It was just another excuse to hang out, so you definitely didn't turn down the offer.

Finally, you were led to a dim lit room. Another fish like receptionist greeted you upon entering. There were a wide range of monsters inside of this room as well, consisting of a few small cute creatures that made you feel a bit less self conscious about your height. Contrary to them, there sat a colossal, demon like monster, which led you to wonder how he sat in such a small chair. Sans sat at a table a bit farther away from the other monsters, and you followed suit. Soon after, the lights dimmed, and the monsters around the room began to clap. A light blue bird came to the middle of the stage and spoke into the microphone.

"I _snow_ you're sad we're ending soon, but our last act is just _ice-ing_ on the cake! Everyone, give it up for Sans!" The room once again filled with applause, however, you looked over to where Sans once sat, only to see the seat was now empty. Your head snapped back to the stage, and although he put on an extremely laid back demeanor, you could see his smug look spread across his face.

"What a jokester." You quietly mutter to yourself. Sans and Snowdrake, you found out once Sans addressed him, went back and forth with their one liners and snow puns. Right before the act began, he sent Snowdrake off with an " _ice-ta la vista."_ You didn't get the joke, but the crowd seemed to appreciate it.

All in all, the show was great. Even though everyone shared a good laugh at Sans' jokes, you wondered if your laugh was as loud as Toriel's. Sans also cracked a few dirty jokes here and there, and you realized why she might have been a bit reluctant to you seeing this show, if not just for being human. You joined in the final applause as Sans finished his act. A few bows and a couple of handshakes later, Sans walked over to you.

"That was great!" You examined with a wide grin on your face, your praise producing a grin on his face that could match yours. Before anything else could be exchanged, your stomach growled, causing Sans to slightly jump. He looked around, but the two of you were the only ones on the far corner of the room.

"was… was that you?" You couldn't help but laugh at his bewilderment. Still, you nod, since it made sense that a skeleton wouldn't know what it meant.

"Yeah, my body is just telling me it can fit more food in my stomach. I haven't eaten much today." He immediately jumped at that, realizing he had not fed you.

"well, I should probably take you back to Tori's then. you're not in pain, are you?" You laugh again.

"Nah, it's okay, but I _ap-peach-iate_ it. I'm glad you _carrot-bout_ me, but I'll be _gouda_ for a while. _Donut_ worry, it's not that big of a _dill_." The two of your laughter was interrupted by your stomach growling once more from the thought of the food.

"alright, I admit, as _corn-y_ as that was, it was still pretty _a-maize-ing_. still, we _butter_ stop here. if you're hungry, we shouldn't just _taco-bout_ it." You giggle, not only at his puns, but at Sans' witty grin as well. It stopped pretty fast though, as he took your hand. "but there is one more place I want to take you tonight, if you're up for it?"

"Yea." You breathe out, almost winded from the sudden mood change. You realize what he actually meant once you felt your feet slowly lift off the ground, and without delay, you shut your eyes. Landing was less of a struggle this time around, and you quickly found your bearings.

"wait." Sans spoke suddenly as you began to open your eyes. A bit bemused, you follow his request as he led you. "ok, open." With that, your eyes fluttered open, as if they were forced shut for an eternity.

Honestly, the wait was worth the while. The once night sky you felt so familiar with, what reminded you of the small comforts of the Underground, spread indefinitely before you. The muddy stars from those ruined books you had once read could not compare to the profuse amount of twinkling lights surrounding you. You were only able to whisper a cracked, higher than usual pitched, "whoa" as your hand reach towards the spectacle. It was so far from you, and it was almost daunting. Never since this moment had you felt so small compared to the world you lived in. With that thought in mind, tears began to roll down your flushed cheeks. A soft "oh" escaped your lips as your hand slowly fell to your face to wipe the tears. You couldn't find the words to describe how astonishing this sight that you were currently exposed to.

"whoa, you alright kid? we can leave if you wanna. I don't want our relationship to be built on faulty _tiers._ " Sans joked, a bit perplexed, but still tried to lighten the mood.

"Ha, that one was _tear-ible_ , Sans."

"I happen to think that one was _tear-ific."_ His grin returned once knowing you were alright.

"Hey, you can't reuse puns like that, it's cheating!" You wipe your final tear and point, perhaps a bit rudely at Sans.

"cheating?! says who? I'll have you know that I am the king of puns, and I rule that they are always acceptable in any situation." The two of you laugh for just a brief moment, until you smile and look up to him, changing the mood like he once had before bringing you here.

"Thank you."

"yeah, no problem kid." He returned your smile, only to turn into a shit eating grin upon hearing your stomach growl once more. "don't mean to get _jalapeño_ business, but I should probably take you home to eat now." His pun earned a giggle from you.

"Yep, it's definitely _nacho_ business, but you're right." You take his hand one last time for the night, looking back at the night sky once more before nodding, and closing your eyes.

Toriel was excited to see you and hear about your day, but another movement from your stomach quickly led her to what seemed to be one of her favorite pass times; feeding you. Soon after, she sent you to rest. It was written all over your face that you needed it, being that you were not used to so much excitement in one day. You didn't complain though, even if your day had been wonderful, once your head met your pillow, sleep couldn't reach you any sooner. Nevertheless, your mind unconsciously waited for the whispers that usually followed you into your sleep. As you take one last large exhale before drifting off, you hear as soft, but coherent, "S̗͇͓̹͔̭͕̟ò̢̜̮̙̰̘̼̙r̦̻̠̮̭̖͙r̗̹̮̗̝͖̪͞͡y̸̨̲͖͓̹̳͓͝.̷̝̜͔̼́ͅ.̖͎̤̘̮̥́̕͘"

* * *

So those glow worms (or arachnocampa luminosa) are actually pretty damn cool. Here's an example:

/JC41M7RPSec?t=6s

And if you want to learn more about them try this one:

/vLb0iuTVzW0

There are so many more video's but I don't want to bury this section with links...

Speaking of, the chapter art is just a sketch at the moment, so I'll hold off on posting it for now. It should be up by the next update!


	6. Already Dating

I don't usually post at the begining of the chapter, but wew, what has it been? About 6 months already? So sorry it has taken soo long for me to update! I've been working on a few projects here and there, so it has been a bit difficult for me to sit down and work on this.

Anywho, thank you for being patient with this story. I tried giving a nice long chapter, not that it really makes up for the hiatus.

Enjoy!

* * *

Not only were you not awoken from those familiar voices that hunted you, you also slept a dreamless night. You were a bit surprised to wake up to the familiar smell of Toriel's cooking, and the warm light emitting from your window. You sat up from your resting position and stretched, listening to all the satisfying cracks and pops. No matter what happened before today, you couldn't help but smile from the sudden burst of energy filling every muscle in your being. _Where you ever a morning person?_

Of course not. There was no morning, nor was there a night in the Underground. How could you be? You thought you could talk to the whispers, considering you decided to attempt some form of communication with it. Then again, you also didn't want to ruin the already good mood you were in. In the end, it was decided you would wait until you had the proper time to speak with it. There was no need to worry Toriel this early in the morning. You said your plans aloud in your head, hoping _it_ would understand and reflect on your current situation.

Deciding it was time to get up, you walk to your dresser to find your clothes for the day. Neatly piled on top, a notebook, an empty picture frame, and Sans' carefully folded clothes. The latter made you smile, and you couldn't help but feel giddy inside. You could only appreciate your previous day in its entirety. That being said, the 'entire'having to be that you did, in fact, lose a close friend. Despite Flowey saying he never wanted to see you again, you were determined to figure out some way to make peaceful grounds with him. You were going to give him his space, but you also wondered if he was lonely.

Your shower today was uneventful, to your pleasure. No voices, no weird dark beings staring at you, and all things considered, this was probably the better mornings you had since waking up Aboveground. To be honest, maybe at all, bearing in mind that your brain was doing its best to not recall your previous days prior to being here. Despite what Sans said, you felt the need to remember. Perhaps you should trust him over the voice, but you decided to give _it_ the benefit of the doubt. Toriel's sweet humming broke you from your thoughts. Watching her careful, yet relaxed movements as she set your meal on its platter, and cleaning up as she went calmed you. You couldn't help but quietly sit and watch her. Though feeling like some strange creep, you didn't know the next time your morning would be this peaceful.

"Oh, my child, you are awake! My apologies, I did not see you there. Have you slept well?" You hum and nod while smiling at her, glad that you didn't have to lie. Unknown to you, your genuine smile relaxes the nerves and worries Toriel felt. Your smile did something to not only her, it seemed to be all of the monsters that you surrounded yourself with. Perhaps it was some small magic of your own; or maybe just that the gesture was so natural for you, and that you yourself did not know, felt so relieving. Toriel silently takes the pleasure of your smiling face and places your food on the table. The two of you ate in silence for a moment, but Toriel caught you staring at the door one too many times, deciding to answer your voiceless question.  
"Sans is not the early riser. Although if he is awake, and not busy, he will help with errands occasionally. Were you expecting-?"

"Ah, no, it's just… I wasn't sure. I don't really have a good way to perceive time. Papyrus…? " You didn't mean to end your sentence as a question, but you couldn't figure out how you wanted to word it.

"Papyrus is awake, no doubt. Although, he is most likely executing his daily training." It had only become apparent then that you had forgotten to mention your current plans with the skeleton brothers while you were talking to Toriel last night. You didn't even know where to start honestly. You understood the concern she felt last night with you leaving the house with Sans, so it was a bit difficult to find the correct words. You decided it would probably just be best to go straight to the point with her.

"Ah no, not that, it's just Papyrus wanted to hang out today… At his house. We didn't really have the chance to yesterday, since I went to Sans' show last night. We kinda made these plans on the spot without any organization, a-and I don't really have a good way to communicate with them, so it's a bit hard to put into words… I probably should've just told you so last night, but I forgot to tell you last night..." _Well that was a train wreck._ You couldn't really understand why you were so nervous and tripping all over your words, but you figured it was either you did not want to upset Toriel, or something from your past was limiting you from telling her the truth. With all being said and done, Toriel looked down at you with a vexed expression. You swallowed and cleared your throat, realizing how uncomfortable you were with staring at her, leading you to divert your gaze. Soon after, she smiled, unknown to you, and place a hand on the top of your head. You could feel her magic flow within you. This monster was really one of her kind. _Or perhaps you were just comparing her actions to humans._

"I'll make sure to get into contact with them about you plans today. While you wait, why not play outside. The weather is very pleasant today." Toriel's words caught you off guard. You weren't expecting to tell her about your fight with Flowey, nor did you intend to. You were sure your expression hid your thoughts well, but you voice betrayed you.

"Ah, I actually wanted to read some of the books I borrowed from Sans." As you spoke, your voice was noticeably higher pitched than normal. Thankfully, it seemed as if Toriel took your sudden outburst as excitement rather than a simple escape from the topic at hand. Toriel began to clean the table, allowing you to walk over to the bookshelf and take a few of the borrowed books. You head to your room, plop onto the bed, and proceed to sigh into the pillow. It seemed to take a lot of work to try to keep Toriel happy. You really ought to just relax and be yourself for a while. Then again, letting your guard down was the reason you and Flowey had a falling out. Suddenly, a loud "psst"-ing noise alerted you that you were not alone. You quickly jump up from your spot and look around your room. No one was there… Small beads of sweat trickled down your head, and you began to feel nauseous. Soon after, hearing the noise again, you were able to identify the source; inside of your head.

" _Tonight. Not right now, but tonight."_ You whisper to the voice, hoping it understood that although Toriel was in another room, she could come in at any given time. Giving yourself a few moments of silence, you were finally able to sigh with relief, knowing that _it_ was giving you the space you needed for the time being. Figuring that you were already laying on your bed, you pull out a book Sans suggested reading first.

' _Geography,'_ you spelled the word out loud, examining the cover before finally opening the book. Beaches, mountains, savannahs, and tundra's. Aboveground has such a vast, stunning terrain. How the Underground only made up a small fraction of this endless world baffled you. Those colossal trees, the spacious plains, this infinite sky; you began to recall how insignificant the place you once called home was. You were not completely done with the book once Toriel knocked on your half-opened door, breaking the spell that glued your eyes to the pages of the book.

"My child, I have received a call from Papyrus. He will be arriving short-" Before Toriel was able to complete her sentence, a barrage of knocks sprang from another room. Surprise hits your face, as well as Toriel's, prompting you to leave and find the source of the noise. Toriel never received visitors outside of Sans, so it shouldn't have surprised to you when Papyrus stood on the other side of the door. "Oh dear, Papyrus, I did not expect you so soon!" Toriel exclaims, obviously in shock with his sudden arrival.

"MY APOLOGIES MISS TORIEL. I GOT SO EXCITED FOR TODAY, I ENDED UP RUNNING THE LAST LEG OF THE RACE HERE."Toriel let Papyrus in and closed the door softly behind him.

"Oh my, I hope you did not run too far? There is a bit of a distance. I'm afraid Frisk may not have as much endurance as you do." Toriel laughed gently. You haven't seen her with any other monsters before, but it seemed as if Toriel could get along with anyone.

"QUITE THE CONTRARY. I CALLED AS I HIT THE END OF THE ROAD, HOPING TO GIVE THE HUMAN ENOUGH TIME TO PREPARE MY ARRIVAL." Unfortunately, this was not the case. Perhaps the furthest from it.

"Haha, sorry Papyrus. I just found out as soon as you arrived." You could only smile and point to your room. Papyrus was something else. Something innocent and good; something you most definitely needed. "Anyway, it shouldn't take me too long to get ready. I just need a change of clothes."

"Ah, that reminds me, my child, Frisk!" Toriel's sudden burst surprised you, causing you to jump slightly. You were focusing all your energy on Papyrus, which whom you expected it from. "I have prepared an outfit for this very occasion. I hope you do not mind? I must admit, I was a little enthused upon hearing the news."

"Oh, you didn't have to, but of course I don't mind. I just hate to think I used up your time for something minute."

"In fact, it is the other way around! I loved every moment while making it. To tell the truyh, this may be my quickest project to date. I am nervous about you leaving, however I am sure it is every mothers dream to know and approve of their child's friends." Toriel said this with a smile, but you could only feel a horrible feeling in your stomach.

 _Mother._ For some reason that word provoked a negative reaction to your body, as it made you felt sick and left you sweating. You were only able to send Toriel a strained smile, before looking away and scratching just below the nape of your neck. You hoped that she mistook your unease as embarrassment, as her words were more personal and welcoming.

Yet, if that was the case, why did that cause you to respond in such a way?

As quickly as she left, Toriel returned with the clothes she had made for you, allowing you to make short work of returning to your room to try it on. The robe looked just as Toriel's did, as the purple garment draped over your body. Though, hers didn't drape over her feet… Or her hands. Looking at your back, there was a cute, but faux of what should be a tail, but it was only fabric. Pulling the hood over your head that was not present in the original, had two also artificial horns. Even with all the differences, the same crest remained. You never asked what it meant, yet suddenly seeing it on you sparked a hidden curiosity.

You suddenly remember your surroundings after hearing Papyrus' sudden outburst. It was funny actually. Even though you were inside a different room, you could follow the conversation the two were having. That of course, being because of Papyrus. It was a bit hard to walk with the robe, but after taking Sans' clothes and the book that you were reading, you made your way to the monsters. The conversation between the two seemed to come to a complete stop as you entered. It seemed both of the monsters were struck with awe from the sight of you.

"WOWWIE HUMAN, YOU LOOK JUST LIKE ROYALTY!" Royalty? Did that have to do with the color purple? Or perhaps it was the crest you were wearing? Toriel must have noticed your confused expression as she begins to explain to you what Papyrus meant.

"Papyrus works for the Royal Guard. I thought that with you dressed in the Royal garments, less questions would be asked if it appeared he was carrying out an escort mission." _Wait, wait. Royal garments? Toriel wears that type of stuff?_ You wanted to ask more questions, but before getting the chance to, Papyrus spoke up.

"I AM SORRY TO INTERRUPT, BUT IF WE DO NOT LEAVE AROUND THIS TIME, TRAFFIC WILL BE QUITE HECTIC."

"Oh, of course, my apologies Papyrus. I did not mean to keep you too long. It was," she paused and looked at you with an expression that surprised you. "Seeing Frisk like this, I became so proud." She was… proud of you? You felt heat creeping to your face, and couldn't help but look down and scratch your head in embarrassment. "Ah, please do not forget to take this with you, dear. I may have had a bit of free time while we were awaiting the call." Toriel hands you a container filled with cookies, and with that, the two of you depart.

Upon your time of living here, you had only been out of the front door once. Not because you were scared or felt guilty for doing so, just there was simply a long hallway on the other side of the door. At the end of the hallway, there was a locked door that seemed to have no handle. You were unable to push it, and just assumed Toriel may just have super strength. Curious and enthused to see how the door opens, you stare intently at Papyrus' actions, quietly awaiting his next move. He began to pull something out of either his scarf or armor. You were unable to tell considering his body structure. A small crest baring the symbol on Toriel's dress was taken out of some seemingly unknown void, and pressed against the door. There was a loud rumbling sound, and the ground began to tremor slightly. The door wasn't made to be pushed or pulled you realized, as it slid to the side.

"I APOLOGIZE, BUT WE WILL HAVE TO DO A TAD BIT OF WALKING BEFORE WE ARRIVE AT MY CAR AS MISS TORIEL LIVES QUITE SOME WAYS FROM THE MAIN ROAD."

"That's alright." You didn't really mind at all. The scenery was surprisingly much different than the garden you had spent many hours in. There, only a field of flowers and a lone tree surrounded you. Here, an abundance of trees and bush fenced you into a single walkway. Unlike the tree in the garden, these trees and shrubs produced leaves. You find yourself falling behind Papyrus due to your curiosity. That, and his awfully large strides. He seemed to be aware of your short legs, slowing his pace every so often for you to catch up to him. Even though you were completely engrossed with your current surroundings, your body instinctively bundles up as the temperature drops. Soon, the dense forest begins to fall, and you are able to see a profusion of monsters, including some in strange contraptions. Papyrus jumps inside of a red, sleek version of those strange machines, which leads you to assume this is what he meant by 'car.'

Using his long arm, Papyrus opens the passenger side of his car. He seemed very proud of his car, and his smile should have calmed you down, but you couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy. If it was anything like Sans' teleporting, you knew you were in for one hell of a ride.

" _Maybe it's like riding a bike."_ You though, trying to reassure yourself that you were completely safe. Papyrus notifies you to buckle your seatbelt. Because you were unsure what he meant, you just copy his actions, and hoped for the best. It seemed to do the trick, as Papyrus uses a key to turn on his car. It starts with a quiet hum, and slowly, you begin to pull off. The scenery around you was so beautiful… though you were unable to see it. Your brain understood that you were sitting down, unmoving, yet your eyes saw that you were in fact, moving. You were forced to keep your eyes shut as you drove faster, and could help but humor the thought of teleporting with Sans rather than this. It really wasn't fun being motion sick.

Suddenly, you find yourself bundling up from the immediate temperature drop. The air felt like a cold, sharp slap to your face, causing your eyes to snap open to view your surroundings. It was astounding, seeing snow for the first time after reading about it. What seemed to be only a white sheet laying atop trees and the ground in picture, was actually so much more. Jewels of various colors that met your observant eyes; a product from the sun shone before your very sight.

Before you know it, you stop in the driveway of a quaint, two-story house. Papyrus, with his usual proud voice exclaimed, "WE'RE HERE-" but you were still hanging outside of the car, infatuated by the snow. A loud laughter from Papyrus finally breaks you from the sight, as he asks you if you had ever seen snow before. You had to shake your head. Though you read about it, that trivial information could not compare to the marvels you took in. Papyrus hopped out of the car, taking long strides to open the door for you. Although you were a bit reluctant to step on the perfect white sheet that lay before you, hearing the sounds made from Papyrus' footsteps stirred you to make your own. The texture was not what you imagined. You jump slightly, just to hear the sound once more. It was soothing.

"THERE IS PLENTY OF FUN THINGS YOU CAN DO IN THE SNOW. SINCE YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE, ALLOW ME TO SHOW YOU!" You nod, and follow him to a secluded area filled with trees. You were shown what a snow angel was, had your first snowball fight, and made snow statues. You, unfortunately were not as artistic as Papyrus, but in the end, you still had fun. With your hands chilled to the bone, you and Papyrus leave back to his house. You sit at the table and drink hot chocolate with Papyrus, who said was the best remedy for the cold. Well, that and the, 'FIERY PASSION OF FRIENDSHIP!" ...or something along those lines.

"IT IS A BIT UNORTHODOX, SINCE IT IS ONLY THE AFTERNOON, BUT WE SHOULD HAVE A MOVIE NIGHT TO HELP YOU WARM UP AND RELAX!" He must have noticed you were still shivering although you moved into the warm house. "YOU CAN USE THIS BLANKET AS WELL! UNDYNE USUALLY USES IT WHILE SHE IS OVER, BECAUSE SHE IS ALSO SUSCEPTIBLE TO THE COLD." You weren't sure who this 'Undyne' person was, but you accepted the blanket with welcomed arms. He turned on the T.V. that you had just played video games on yesterday, but this time, turns on a different machine. Apparently, it was called a 'Mettaton movie,' and while it was a tad over dramatic for your taste, you enjoyed it. Perhaps not as much as Papyrus did. He seemed to know all the words and shushed when it came to one of his favorite scenes. You're asked if you'd like to watch another one, seeing that you had finally warmed up, but you turn it down.  
"HMM, THEN HUMAN, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO?" He was being considerate, seeing that he had been the one suggesting all the activities today. To be honest, you were unsure what you wanted to do.

"It's okay for you to decide. I don't really know what all there is to do around here."

"WELL, WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING HUMAN?" _What you liked to do?_ It should have been a simple question, but reading didn't seem like the fun pastime at this moment. Maybe it was your imagination, but it almost seemed as if he was actually asking, "what _did_ you enjoy doing."

It had to be your imagination, yet, an answer wouldn't come to your mind. You've told Flowey countless times what you liked doing. You just couldn't help but wonder, what type of person were you before Flowey, before Toriel, and even before Sans.

 _You worked. Somehow, begrudging getting through each day. You seemed to cry your voice away. Apparently, you made no real connections, seeing that you couldn't remember a single soul from the Underground. Besides, even if you did, didn't you get into fights with everyone as well?_

"I like reading, so maybe I used to do that a lot?" You say pathetically, knowing how terrible of a lie it was, and knowing that you didn't have to. ' _I mean really,_ _you at least remembered you were bad at your studies.'_ "S-sorry, I can't really remember what I used to do before coming here." Once again forgetting that was not the question he asked, you scratch the back of your head, thankful you became this flustered in front of Papyrus, and not any of the other monsters you had met.

"I SEE." But you forgot, Papyrus was a monster just as much as the others you knew. You begin to shake a bit, wondering if he was as observant as the rest. "WHEN I FORGET SOMETHING, I LIKE TO BACKTRACK." You sigh with relive. Thankfully Papyrus was either too innocent or ignorant to notice your sudden slipup. "I KNOW, WE SHOULD GO TO THE LIBRARY! I SAW SOME ANCIENT HUMAN ARTICLES THE OTHER WEEK WHEN ALPHYS CAME TO VISIT!" _Ancient human articles?_ You couldn't help but giggle a bit, but you were still curious to see what he meant. You agree with Papyrus, telling him that it was a fantastic idea. He seemed to enjoy the praise. You bundle up, thankful that Toriel made your outfit so long, and also thankful that the library was walking distance. You take this time to fully appreciate your surroundings, and make a mental note to ask Sans or Toriel about it later.

The 'ancient human articles,' Papyrus talked about were actually just Prewar magazines. Still you were thankful he showed them to you. Just looking at the covers, you could see how much humans had changed overtime. The 'back to school' book showed these strange 'bookbags,' and 'pencils.' They were much different than the sacks and scribes you had used in school. You also could not remember such fashion these humans wore. In the end, although these magazines held no secrets of your past life Underground, it still helped you recollect a few memoires of what it was like. Or at the very least, what is was not like.

You read through the five magazines available, each containing different information. Fashion, fitness, education, cooking, and… dating? It was strange. Although you don't recall doing anything remotely close to it, the article made you uncomfortable, and left you blushing. You decided that it wouldn't help you any, and begin to go to read something else, until Papyrus spoke up.

"I HAVE A PLAN." Papyrus gave the impression as if he were whispering, but it didn't seem to work. There were a few shushes here and there, but ultimately, it seemed the monsters in this library were used to such a thing. "ALPHYS CAN THOROUGHLY TEACH YOU ABOUT EDUCATION. SHE IS THE SMAREST PERSON I KNOW. AS YOU KNOW, METTATON IS AN AMAZING CELEBRITY, SO I AM SURE HE WOULD BE ABLE TO SHOW YOU THE BEST FASION CHOICES FOR YOU. UNDYNE IS THE CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD, AS WELL AS MY DAILY TRAINER. YOU WILL LEARN A LOT ABOUT FITNESS FROM HER. AND ALTHOUGH I AM A WELL ACCLAIMED CHEF MYSELF, TORIEL HAS A WIDER RANGE IN EXPERIENCE WITH COOKING, SO SHE CAN HELP YOU REMEMBER IF YOU LIKE TO COOK." This was a lot for you to take in at once. He was suggesting you meet these monsters? You could barely keep yourself together in front of the ones you already knew. Besides, Toriel was already hesitant of monsters finding out you were a human. And as far as you knew, she had every right to be, considering humans were once at war with monsters. Even in this disguise, introducing yourself to someone with the title of 'Royal guard' did not seem safe at all. You didn't think you could be more terrified, considering all said, but then again, Papyrus had a way to alert you even further.

"AND THAT LEAVES ME TO HELP YOU REMEMBER 'DATING.'" You begin to choke on air, resulting in a coughing fit, and an abundance of annoyed shushing. "LET US MAKE HASTE. WE SHOULD BEGIN EFFECTIVELY IMMEDIATETLY." You were attracting too much attention, and couldn't stop blushing. You could feel the heat radiating off your ears. It was probably for the best you two left. You needed time to cool down outside anyway.

Much to your satisfaction, the two of you leave the library. Although it was much colder outside, you still fanned your face, hoping there was no indentation of how flustered you were feeling. As helpful as it was to read and study the magazines, the idea Papyrus had seemed a bit…

Well, the foundation of the idea made sense. You were only able to remember so much from interacting with the monsters that surrounded you. He just seemed a little too optimistic about his friends. _Maybe if we subtracted Undyne and Alphys… You didn't mind the idea of cooking with Toriel. Papyrus seemed very energetic, so he could teach you about fitness. Sans was really smart as well. He had been the one educating you so far anyway, you didn't see a reason to change that. Speaking of…_

"Papyrus, what about Sans? He knows a lot about geology and astronomy, and he doesn't seem to have a place in this." You hoped he would take one unknown player out and stick Sans in instead. He was, in fact, his brother.

"SANS? I AM NOT QUITE SURE WHERE HE WOULD FIT IN THIS PUZZLE, AND I DO NOT SEE HOW HE COULD HELP. SANS IS JUST A LAZY BONES THAT WORKS OCCASIONALLY. I SUPPOSE HE ONCE HELPED OUT AS A ROYAL SCIENCE, BUT HE QUIT THAT JOB." Funny, one of the only things you had remembered about yourself is that you worked a lot. Though you don't remember having such a fun job as him, you definitely didn't mind him taking you to his work place every once in a while. Wait, no. You were supposed to be subtracting from this list, not adding more things to do.

Before you know it, you already arrived back at Papyrus' and Sans' house, changing nothing in Papyrus' grand plan. Well, you still had more time. The idea of 'dating' didn't sit well with you, but you knew as long as it was Papyrus, you shouldn't have to worry too much. He would probably just misunderstand something, apologize, and although you'll be embarrassed, you'd both be embarrassed together.

"AHEM. NOW THEN, SHALL WE BEGIN? DATING START!" To your surprise, everything in the article seemed to mock a normal day. 'Have a person to date, or have a double date.' A group outing Sans, Toriel, and Papyrus? That seemed fun. 'Wear some nice clothes.' Papyrus excused himself to put on a new outfit. You were now somewhat thankful he wasn't the one teaching you in fashion. Still, you couldn't help but smile at his outfit of choice. 'Ask out your person of choice.' Wait, what?

"HUMAN, WILL YOU GO ON A DATE WITH ME?" You had to give him props, he seemed very serious about this. You'd think he just didn't know how bold of a statement that was, but he also seemed to be a bit flustered. Considering he was doing all of this to help you out, you decide to just play along, rather than making this more awkward.

"Um, yeah! Sure, I'd love to!" You could have been a bit more enthusiastic about it, but you give yourself a pat on the back for not stuttering at the very least. You couldn't say the same for Papyrus though.

"R-REALLY?! I-I MEAN OF COURSE! NOW, 'PLAN ON WHAT TO DO. TRY TO DO SOMETHING YOUR PARTNER LIKES.' SINCE WE'RE UNSURE ON WHAT YOU LIKE TO DO, SHALL WE SKIP TO THE NEXT STEP?" You nod, and he continues. "WELL THEN, NEXT WE SHOULD HAVE A GREAT TIME!"

"I've been having a great time with you all day so far." You give him a huge smile. "I had a blast making snow angels and snow statues! Plus, the movie was fascinating." Papyrus' face seemed to be glowing a slight orange color. It reminded you of Sans, and you were immediately able to tell that Papyrus was becoming flustered. You felt slightly amused, and couldn't help but want to tease him a bit.

"R-RIGHT THEN! SINCE WE HAVE PASSED THAT STEP LET'S GO TO THE NEXT! 'COMPLIMENT YOUR DATE! TRY TO MAKE THEM SMILE OR BLUSH!' HUMAN, ALTHOUGH YOU ARE SMALL, AND HAVE A BAD SENSE OF HUMOR LIKE MY BROTHER, YOU ARE VERY KIND! AND WHILE HUMANS DO NOT HAVE MAGIC, YOU SEEM TO HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE ME SMILE AND MY HEART RACE!" Your hands immediately slap to your face, ineffectively trying to hide your embarrassment. That, and the laugh you were so desperately trying to hold in. Sure, Papyrus successfully made you blush, but you knew he was doing this to help you. You didn't want to make him feel bad while trying to do something so kind. Just the fact he was so flustered from this improve made you smile. Still, you felt defeated. You told yourself you'd play along as if this was some sort of joke, but he managed to catch you off guard with that. Even though you were sure Papyrus didn't see this like a challenge, you decide to make it just that.

"You're so cool Papyrus. You barely know me, but you became such a great friend. You seem to help everyone that is in need. I'm sure you must be popular! …P-plus, my heart is racing as well." You add the last bit for good measure.

"WELL, THANK YOU!" Papyrus began sweating and cleared his throat, although you were sure he didn't have one. He stuck his face into the magazine and began to read more. "'TALK ABOUT YOUR INTEREST. GET TO KNOW YOUR DATE MORE.' PERSONALLY, I LIKE METTATON. A-AND SPAGHETTI! HOW ABOUT YOU?!"

"I liked the movie, and Mettaton seems interesting. I don't know what spaghetti is though, I'm sorry."

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT SPAGHETTI IS HUMAN?!" Any awkwardness or discomfort that Papyrus had was immediately replaced with astonishment. You were amazed with the short track mind he had. "THIS WORKS WELL, AS THE NEXT STEP IS TO 'FEED YOUR DATE!' FOLLOW ME!" It was hard to keep pace with his emotions, and you were just a bit envious of this talent of his. You could still feel your heart beating a little faster than normal, but you take this escape as a blessing.

By the time you enter the kitchen, there were already two plates set up with some strange concoction. A fork and a spoon sat next to each plate, and a glass of water was placed on the opposite side. A single candle between the meals lit the room. Honestly, it was a surprisingly romantic setting. You take a seat across from him and stare at the food. Judging by the look he was making, it seemed he was waiting for you to try it. You had never eaten spaghetti before, but you were almost certain it wasn't supposed to taste like this. As to not seem rude, you sallow your first bite, but you're unable to pick up anymore.

"Wow… that certainly… leaves an impact." You couldn't find any other words to describe it without hurting his feelings. He was trying so hard to help you, but as human as you were, you never knew it could be so hard to lie.

"WOWWIE I KNEW YOU'D LOVE IT! NOW LET'S READ THE LAST STEP." _Thank goodness._ "'NOW IT IS TIME FOR GOODBYES. UNLESS, YOU'VE HAD AN AMAZING TIME, NOW THIS IS THE PERFECT TIME TO MAKE YOUR MOVE. TRY FOR A KISS. IF POSSIBLE TAKE THEM HOME AND HAVE A GOOD TIME. MAKE SURE TO GET SOME SLEEP IN BETWEEN ;).'" It didn't matter that the room was lowly lit, you knew your face was nothing but red. You could melt the snow with the amount of heat radiating from your face. Your heart became the fastest drummer to exist. Hitting a rewind button seemed like an excellent idea. Yet somehow this didn't seem to faze Papyrus at all. That fact alone terrified you the most. That, and how Papyrus audibly read the wink-y face at the end of the sentence. "WELL I HAVE NO LIPS, SO THAT IS NOT FEASIBLE." _Oh, thank goodness._ "BUT WE CAN SKIP TO THE LAST PART. IT IS A LITTLE EARLY, THOUGH THAT DIDN'T STOP US FROM MOVIE NIGHT, SO IT SHOULDN'T STOP US NOW!"

"Huh!?" Your voice was exasperated, and you felt exhausted. You really could not keep up with him, but you knew when to admit defeat. This was that time.

"THIS WAY HUMAN!" You stay frozen in your chair as he jumps into the other room. You didn't know what to do at this point. You knew in the bottom of your heart Papyrus did not understand what this meant. It was only with the loud ruckus Papyrus was making in the other room, that you decided to peek to see what he was up to. Halfway done with some sort of pillow fort, you could tell he was having the time of his life. "HUMAN, I CANNOT FINISH THIS FORT BY MYSELF! THE INSTRUTIONS CLEARLY STATED THAT WE MUST BOTH HAVE A GOOD TIME THEN REST!" _See, it's harmless._ You sigh with relief and help Papyrus finish the fort.

As soon as you two finish the fort, Papyrus proceeded to lay down, and to your astonishment, he instantly fell asleep. But honestly, should you be surprised at this point? This monster has been pulling you left and right all day, you were beat. And truthfully, sleepy as well. You lay down on your back next to Papyrus, looking at the ceiling. He seemed to make no noise, it was almost as if you were there by yourself.

Turning to the side, you look at Papyrus to make sure he was still there. He didn't breathe, which made sense, as he is a skeleton. Yet, through the entire day, he expressions were so animated and organic. It had been bugging you ever since you hung out with Sans, and although you felt bad, you begin to build up the courage to at least poke his face. At first just a little touch, you carefully try to understand how he worked. His face felt exactly as your brain kept telling you how it should feel. It was what you could only imagine to be the same bone that hid under your skin. Yet, your eyes and your wide imagination kept telling you otherwise. There had to be some sort of trick to him.

 _Well that, or perhaps it was just magic._

Just as you decide you better give it a rest, your hand slightly hovered over his nasal, and he lets out a sneeze. You find yourself stiff, laying facing away from him almost immediately. Yeah, it was definitely time for you to stop. Although it took you a while to relax again, you decide it would only be proper to review your day to see if any memories of your past came to mind. considering the amount of effort Papyrus put into this. You close your eyes and steady your breath.

This whole 'date' with Papyrus caused you to become a lot more flustered then you wanted to admit. What struck you most though was the fact that you understood the hidden implications even when Papyrus did not. Either it was because you were human, or because of his innocence, you at least concluded that you probably understood the magazine more than you should have at your age. You had the time to skim through multiple articles from each magazine. Flowey's 'guess' of your age, and the images of the children gave you a good estimate that you were indeed, a kid. Yet, seeing their frilly skirts and vibrant colors, that virtue they had was something you seemed to have lost long ago.

You told yourself that you were more mature, you seemed to make a competition over the silliest of things. That childlike heart you kept believing did not truthfully exist; the enjoyment you took in teasing Flowey, Sans, and Papyrus, it showed just that. It only made you wonder why you could only remember the murky, miserable, lifeless emotions of Underground. You had smiled before you first saw the sun. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you kept convincing yourself that. Yet your mind only takes you to a dimly lit room with artificial blue lights. You leaned on a counter that seemed so familiar to you, looking out, repulsed at the sight before your eyes. Drunken, shit-faced humans slammed off their asses, wasting their money, and whatever they called a life at a place like this. You shouldn't be judging them though, as you knew nothing of their lives outside of that bar. But seeing them at their worst, their puke and blood you constantly cleaned, the fights you continuously had to stop, and the unnecessary rude attitudes directed towards anyone that looked at them made you lack any empathy towards them.

You feel a rough tap on your shoulder. The pain that spread across your body led you to wonder if you had gotten bruised earlier during a bar fight. You believed it was your boss, and they had caught you slacking off again. Turning around, the figure you expected to see was not there. Instead, a dark figure took its place. It seemed to hold no true form, as anything on its body that appeared solid only melted away seconds later. You were almost too focused on its appearance, you barely hear the strange hum it lets out. Every nerve in your body told you to run, that you should be terrified of this figure in front of you. Yet, you were so curious as to why it was giving off the impression like you had seen this before, though you were almost positive you had never met it until now.

The hum that once came from the creature now turned into a muffled screeched. Your body flinches, moving back, trying to find the counter that was just behind you. Instead of a screech, a loud, monotonous static noise comes next. The noise terrified you into falling on your behind. You only look back for a moment, as you were too afraid to keep that figure out of your view, only to see you were no longer in the bar. Instead of a dull blue light, only darkness surrounded you. The figure seemed taken aback by your response. It reaches a hand out towards you, a gesture that showed kindness, but the sight froze you in place.

You wanted to scream, or run, _just anything_. A hand with a giant hole reached towards you, growing larger with each moment that passed. Your screams only echoed around you, and did not seem to affect the creature at all as it continued its motion. As much as you wanted to get away, you were only able to sit on the ground petrified. It was not until this cold, fleshless hand touched your face, you lashed out at it, letting out a feeble scream as you shot up.

Just as you do so, you startle Sans with your sudden outburst, causing him to drop something and let out a sharp, "shit-." You were just having a nightmare. Seeing how Sans reacted, he had probably just gotten home from work, and was surprised by your scream.

You had let him see this pathetic, weak side of you again. Just the thought of that led you to simply plop back down on the pillow fort where you were once sleeping. You knew it was just a nightmare, but you were still so terrified. You wanted to curl into your covers. You wanted to cry. Instead, you simply try to keep your body from shaking, making this already awful situation any worse.

"am i… interrupting something?" Sans asks jokingly, but his voice was hesitant. You tilt your head to see his facial expression, as you could not tell what he was thinking by his just his voice. His eyes jumped to you, to Papyrus, then back. You realize the situation and quickly think of an excuse. You put a finger on your lips, as to shush him and look away from Sans, believing he would see through you if you looked him in the eye.

"We just fell asleep while making a fort." Not the whole truth, but it was not a lie!

"mhmm." Sans sound unconvinced. You looked towards him, scared that he had figured you out. With a raised brow, Sans leaned on a desk and looked through the dating magazine Papyrus must had placed down. It was strange, you knew that his bone was not soft nor was it malleable enough to make any form of expression. Also, things were not looking great for you. You began to fret once Sans looked up and grinned at you. "did you forget to tie your shoes? then again, Pap is a pretty cool dude, I can understand if you fell for him." A strained laugh emits from your body as a response to his humor. One thing you appreciated from Sans was his satire, even in these awkward moments. Whether you lied or not, Sans was perceptive, so there is no point of faking your emotions. Sullenly and defeated, you speak.

"I told Papyrus that I couldn't remember my past, so he suggested we go to the library and check out some old human magazines. He thought it'd be a great idea to reenact some of the things we read to help me recall some of my memories."

"and I guess they were not good ones?" You're not happy how serious the conversation had gotten, but you couldn't keep lying at this point. Not to Sans at least. You were reluctant at first, but you finally spoke.

"Out of all the tiny traits I can remember about myself, the only memories I have about being Underground are only miserable. There obviously must be more, because the person I am now, it doesn't reflect that. And, I had to be happy, because there were glow worms, and-" As silent as Sans was, you had almost forgotten you were talking to him. You wondered how desperate you looked, as you couldn't see your reflection from his eyes. The expression on his face though, calm and absorbed in your words, calmed you. You took a deep breath and slowed down, starting once more. "All I can remember is being afraid and depressed. I can never really remember any memories, only the emotions behind them. I-I just need some time to slowly think it over. Sorry, for making you worried."

"nah, you don't have to worry about me. thanks for opening up to me though. it really means a lot." He only spoke three simple sentences, but you felt so relieved. Your muscles were no longer tense, and you were given a moment to feel the extreme pace of your pulse.

You realized how scared you were at that moment when you opened up to Sans. You were afraid he would turn away and reject you, just as Flowey had. You were not ready to lose another friendly figure, and put Toriel through that despondent episode of yours again. Sans continued, as you obviously did not, pulling you from your thoughts.

"i'm a bit surprised though. how did you get Pap to sleep? i always have to read him a bed time story or two before he ever hits the sack."

"Haha, trust me, it was a bit of a surprise for me as well. We were going through the pre-war magazine, and suddenly it told him to uh, 'go to sleep.' And just like that he was out like a light."

"go to sleep, huh? honestly doesn't sound too bad right about now." Sans put his keys down, made his way over to your makeshift fort, and sat down. Instead of a light sound coming from his contact with the soft fort, a thump replaced its noise. The sensation of comfort he thought he would feel was quickly exchanged with an unamused expression. He searched under the cover to find the book you borrowed from him. Though you try to hold it back, you couldn't help but let out a laugh, with a quick 'sorry,' afterwards. You felt bad, yet you were entertained by the expression he made. Aside from startling him with your growling stomach, and the previous moment when he arrived home, his appearance always seemed similar to the last. He then let out a sarcastic laugh, rolling his eyes, and resumed his previous expression.

Sans opened the book to a page you had bookmarked and studies it for a moment. You were fascinated by the numerous types of trees. It made sense, considering there were no such things in the underground. Without a sun, it made it difficult for any type of vegetation to grow. You had seen a few upon leaving home, but most of them catered to pine and leafless trees, due to the cold weather.

"looks like this book put you ' _tundra'_ a spell." You had only noticed then that you yourself was captivated in the book Sans had opened. You smile, and return his banter.

"Normally, I'd be ' _mist-ified_ ' with your ability to come up with these puns on the spot, but that one must be a _clastic._ I heard that joke last night during the show." His grin widens as he laughs at your wit.

"seems like you enjoyed the book. did you find anything especially interesting or confusing?" You explain to him the lack of trees Underground, and your newfound fascination with them. He first summarized his knowledge about the topic, then slowly warped his words into tree puns whenever he seemed to get the chance. You weren't sure if it was an accident, or purposeful, because it still seemed as he was serious. It wasn't long until you couldn't help but laugh, and share in your poor sense of humor.

"I can't _be-leaf_ it. I _walnut_ fall for your joke like some poor _sap._ _Yew_ might think you're clever, but you're really just _acorn-y_ monster, you know." Sans mocked offense at your puns, coming back with his own.

"i _fern-ly be-leaf_ my tree puns are _quali-tree,_ so you can _leaf_ me alone, _ash_ i _do-nut_ care about you're _o-pine-on_ if you _disa-green._ " You couldn't beat his one sentence long pun, but you didn't want to admit defeat. Before you were able to call him out on stealing your 'be-leaf' pun, Papyrus stirred in his sleep, prompting Sans and yourself to stifle a laugh.

You look up at Sans and smile at him, and sees that he returns the gesture. It was a bit unfair to think he had limited facial expressions, as the one he shows while reading, and the one he showed now appeared genuine. Who would've known the face of a skeleton could make you feel so comfortable, yet at the same time, you were a bit perplexed. Sans was looking in your eyes, you knew that to be a fact, yet it seemed as if he was looking though you. You wanted to believe his expression was heartfelt, yet you could not get an accurate read from only his face. You look behind quickly, thankful there was nothing there. _Was he tired?_

"You definitely look like you needed the nap more than Papyrus did." He just exhales his simple laugh, letting his bones jostle as he slouches into a propped pillow.

"just a long day at work." That was it. Yet, you were so sure there was more to it than that. After a brief pause, Sans spoke up, probably from the dishearten glance you didn't know was on your face. "i was just a bit surprised. you looked very similar to Tori."

"Ha, yeah. Minus the height and the white fur. I suppose the purple will do it though." You let it out as a joke, but you were caught off guard. It was strange for you to be compared to a monster in such a way. You were human. You couldn't really look like anything else but human.

"purple huh… guessin' you didn't like my clothes then?" Sans stirred the conversation back in a casual one. Something he seemed good at doing. Good thing you did not mind doing the same.

"No offense, but Toriel has a better fashion sense than you do. And um-" you look over to Papyrus and end your sentence there. You were unable to tell if that was his normal garb, or if he had only tried it on for your sake.

"heh, none taken. it suits you better anyways. to be honest, she could be your mother-"

"Don't-!" you quickly catch yourself, realizing who was sleeping next to you. Not to forget the one you just scared shitless. _If that is possible._ You knew there was no way to play your sudden outburst out with Sans, but you also knew the longer you took, the more uncomfortable and questionable the situation would become. "call… her that. I don't know what that word means up here, but she's… better than that." You could not look him in the face, but you could see his body language changed drastically. Once was laid back and carefree, now tense, and on edge.

You were so terrified you had finally done it, and scared Sans enough just as you did with Flowey. You try to shut out those emotions, but the memories of your abusive parents flood your mind. And that terrible static. You were drowning in mixed flashbacks, along with that terrible image you saw in your nightmare. You swore you saw that same boney hand reaching out towards you, and almost lashed out at it, until hearing Papyrus yawn behind you.

"THAT WAS QUITE A REFRESHING NAP. HUMAN, HAVE YOU LEARNED ANYTHING AFTER EXPERIENCING, 'DATE?' OH, SANS, YOU'VE MADE IT HOME! TORIEL MADE SOME EXCELLENT COOKIES! WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU TO TRY SOME." You quickly jump up, and exclaim you would grab them. You felt betrayed by your voice, yet felt you should stop relying on yourself on being robotic all the time as well.

Being human meant that you could feel uncomfortable and run away from situations such as these. The room was far too tense for you to stay. You did not want to talk about it, knowing that Sans wouldn't beat around the bush. Yet at the same time, you didn't want him to do the same thing Flowey had done to you.

Standing in the kitchen, conflicted from your contradicting emotions, you stare at the package, ignoring the tears that streamed down your cheeks to think about your sudden outburst. You understood at some point that you yourself were somewhat insane. You knew the voice in your head was only a part of your imagination, yet you kept humoring it. You could hear it now, telling you that you had to move forward.

You shake the voice out of your head.

It was becoming easier, you thought as you wiped the tears from your face. Perhaps you just needed to come to the realization that it was fake. Right as you begin to turn around, you hear a strange rustling noise from the cabinet under the sink. You roll your shoulder back from habit, thinking back to the nightmare, afraid something was going to grab it. Yet you couldn't look away from where the noise was originating. Though you were frozen in place, your mind danced around your thoughts frantically. You knew you were hearing things. _This is not real, and this is all in your head._ Soon after, the noise stops, and you sigh with relief. You were going to quickly make your way out of the kitchen, but the door suddenly pops open, causing you to sharply yelp, and fall to your rear with a loud, "oomph."

The brothers quickly make their way into the kitchen to make sure you were okay, only to be met by some small, white dog with a bone in his mouth. You wince, hearing Papyrus yell for you to catch him, but you were just too baffled to even assess the situation. The dog runs right past your unmoving stature, only then causing you to flinch. You don't take your eyes off the creature as you see it pass under Papyrus' legs, opens the door effortlessly, and runs out. The chilled winds conveniently close the door behind the dog, and you were left to just stare dumbfounded, perplexed by the current scene that had taken place in front of you.

"CURSES!" You were unsure if you had ever seen Papyrus this mad before, or at all for that matter.

"Throw me a bone here, I was a bit surprised as well… Sorry." You seemed to joke in situations like this, and was relieved when he didn't seem to catch the pun. It probably would have made him angrier.

"I WOULD, BUT I SIMPLY DO NOT HAVE ANY TO SPARE." The fact that he did not get your joke, and said that made you smile a bit. It widened more once hearing Sans' humor.

"you can borrow one from me if you beat me at a pun contest, that is, if you have the backbone for it." You directed your attention to Sans, only then remembering that you had yelled at him before this. It seemed he wanted you to look at him, so he could see your face and judge your emotions. Your face was probably stained with tears, and it did not help that you immediately looked away, hoping he did not see your expression. _Monsters are perceptive._ The mere moments you stared at Sans was probably enough for him to understand your thoughts completely. You mentally kick yourself as you forward the conversation.

"Yeah, I don't think I have the spine to take you on yet." You joke softly, but it was the truth. You knew you were too terrified to face him later on.

"I APOLOGIZE, BUT I MUST GO AFTER THAT DOG. I HAVE TRAINING WITH UNDYNE TOMMOROW, AND I WILL NEED EVERY BONE I OWN." You didn't quite understand, but you did know it meant he was leaving, and you would be left alone with Sans. There was nothing you could do about it though.

"O-oh. Well, good luck?" Papyrus takes two long strides towards you, picks you off the ground, and takes a cookie from the container.

"THANK YOU, FRISK." With that, he jumps out the window, breaking it and allowing the cold air to seep into the house. Sans sighed at this, making it seem as this was not the first time, then suddenly stares at your face, startling you. Do you speak first? What do you say? What was _he_ going to say? You fret until Sans holds his hand out towards you.

"you wanted to know more about the forest, right? it'd probably just be better to show you." You didn't fight the tears that escaped your eyes once more. You knew it was a losing battle. Instead you extend a hand towards Sans, with a goofy smile plastered on your face.

* * *

Thanks breakfastburritoe for that long ass tree pun. I've been doing pun research, and I'm honestly not really fond of it.

Here is the art for this chapter. - art/Justanothertale-Chpt-6-697878390

Also, part of the projects I have been working on were animations, so expect some of those in the future!


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